165 Million Americans Are Dependents of the State: Is Tyranny Next?

Forbes ^ | 8/15/2012 | Bill Wilson

[george76]

Is America descending into a dependency state, where the majority uses its voting power to demand government services from taxpayers?

New research from Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee Jeff Sessions (R-AL) reveals that this reality may already be here, with more than 107 million Americans on some form of means-tested government welfare.

...

most voting-age Americans do not pay income taxes — approximately 50.6 percent.

That includes 53.91 million Americans who pay nothing in income taxes, and another 64.7 million who get refunds in excess of what was owed. That’s 118.61 million out of 234.6 million Americans 18 years and older ...

The U.S. Constitution was designed to protect against such an outcome. The Founders did not want a democracy, which tends to be problematic because of the failure of minority rights to be defended against an arrogant or authoritarian majority. So, instead, the Founders created a republic.

In Federalist No. 10, James Madison wrote that in democracies, “governments are too unstable and

[OneWingedShark]

The amount of petty BS I have to deal with only to find “that deduction isn’t for you” is driving me f’n nuts. Tyranny is already here.

Welcome to the burearchy.

[doug from upland]

That is how I interpreted it.

[Spok]

I don’t believe any nation has ever legislated itself back from the brink of tyranny. I don’t think it can be. Every tyranny carries the seed of it’s own destruction, just like democracies, but tyrants aren’t ejected by the ballot box, because the tyrant owns the ballot box.

[OldEarlGray]

The Appetite of Tyranny is never far removed from the Tyranny of the Appetite.

[OldEarlGray]

>>Welcome to the burearchy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Oligarchical_Collectivism

[factoryrat]

I agree with that. The people who got us into this mess aren't about ready to get us out of it. The United States came to be with less than 1/3 of the people supporting the idea of a new nation. This time around, I fear far fewer will be willing to keep it, and bring it back from the brink of oblivion.

[Spok]

A Romney win will only delay the inevitable. I also predict that ObamaCare will never be repealed because, in my opinion, the deal has been sealed with Big Pharma. There’s too much money and power at stake for the industry, bureaucrats and elected officials.