“A Democracy will survive until the people discover they are able to vote themselves ever increasing shares of the public treasury.”
Variations of this quote have been around for over 2000 years, yet we’re not sure of it’s true source.
That has been my tag line for years. As Hanson points out so well in this article, its the reasoon many great societies fall. Wealth production is destroyed when the government takes more and more of it to subsidize the unproductive. There is a harsh reality that an affluent society does not want to face —that is that people must face the consequences of their actions, and to suffer from the consequences of their bad decisions. It is what drives them to do better. Are there some people how have “bad luck” and are there others who have wealth they did not work for? Sure. But in large part, over time, people are responsible for the situations they are in. As Hanson states, we are in a situation now where the masses realize they can vote themselves a relatively good life on someone else’s dime.