I disagree ...
The Republic died on January 22, 1973.
That was but the first stab. The wound was bad, but not deadly. Not until now.
~Theo
From an economic standpoint, the republic was killed on August 15, 1971. However, I agree from a moral standpoint, that January 22, 1973 was the defining date.
Reagan’s two terms just slowed down the inevitable.
The Republic died on November 4, 2008. There were speed bumps prior to that, but this date saw Uncle Sam driving straight into a brick wall at high speed.