[pnh102]

Limiting the vote to stakeholders is a very good idea which does need to be revisited. But instead of property owners, why not instead limit it to net taxpayers who are not on any form of government assistance? There are many high income taxpayers who rent their primary residences, why should they be denied suffrage when they pay a large share of the bills?

The other problem with allowing only property owners to vote is it gives more of a voice to those rich liberals who want everyone to pay more in taxes because it tends to screw everyone else but themselves.

[Darteaus94025]

"...limit it to net taxpayers..."

Exactly. Limit the vote to the Makers not the Takers.

[griswold3]

Walter E Williams proposed that every net taxpayer gets a vote but for every additonal $5K you pay in income taxes you get an additonal vote!
Brilliant!

A democracy cannot survive as a permanent form of government. It can last only until its citizens discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority (who vote) will vote for those candidates promising the greatest benefits from the public purse, with the result that a democracy will always collapse from loose fiscal policies, always followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world’s greatest democratic nations has been 200 years.

Each has been through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith.
From faith to great courage.
From courage to liberty.
From liberty to abundance.
From abundance to complacency.
From complacency to selfishness.
From selfishness to apathy.
From apathy to dependency.
And from dependency back again into bondage.

[Walts Ice Pick]

But instead of property owners, why not instead limit it to net taxpayers who are not on any form of government assistance?

I like that "any form of government assistance" part. Does "any form" include Social Security? Medicare? How about all the farmers who benefit from federal farm subsidies?

Be careful, or we'll wipe out half the Tea Party movement. ;-)

[3niner]

But instead of property owners, why not instead limit it to net taxpayers who are not on any form of government assistance?

Good point! What you want to do is distinguish between taxpayers and taxeaters. "Taxeaters" would also include government employees, for example.

There is one class of government employees that has the strongest claim to the right to vote, those who join the military and put themselves in harm's way. They have paid more than mere money.

Unfortunately, the taxeaters already get to vote and will never vote to give it up.

[upchuck]

why not instead limit it to net taxpayers who are not on any form of government assistance?

I assume you'd exempt those of us accepting Social Security payments?