[Da Coyote]

For many years, our local newspaper (far, far ahead of the New York Journalist Amateurs) had on the top of its editorial page the following: “Who’s gonna pull the wagon when everybody wants to ride?” The picture had one poor man - with a question mark over his head - looking at a wagon full of (liberals, of course).

True then. True now.

Except - we aren’t gonna take it.

Fair warning.

[FreeSouthernAmerican]

No fun at all. We are in dire straits.

[pharmamom]

Easy answer: if you are not paying taxes of some kind (income, FICA or taxes on investments), you don’t vote. Or you don’t vote if you are a net “taker” versus a net producer. Or if you are receiving a check from the government of any kind, except for a system like social security to which you have contributed, you don’t vote.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

“In layman’s terms, when they are retired and no longer paying taxes, government-dependent retirees favor raising everyone else’s taxes to pay for their benefits.”

I have GOT to believe that most actual retirees who have paid a lifetime into SS would rather stop OTHER forms of gummint largesse as UNEARNED benefits to people and other gummints.

[Kudsman]

The deeper question we should be debating is this: What happens to our democracy(I thought we were supposed to be a Representative Republic) when a majority of American voters depend on the government for a paycheck? Our "Republic" ceases to exist. Long live the Social Democracy as evisioned by Von Engels.

[Cacique]

btt

[VermiciousKnid]

“The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a “warm body” democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction…. Once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader — the barbarians enter Rome.”

To Sail Beyond the Sunset Robert A.Heinlein

[JimRed]

Aristotle had argued that political participation required property ownership, since those who did not own property "have no share in the state."

Mixed feelings on that one. The ruling classes have at times set it up so that few of the "lower class" could ever become property owners. But it should relate to taxes; all should participate to earn their share in the state.

[Graybeard58]

In layman's terms, when they are retired and no longer paying taxes, government-dependent retirees favor raising everyone else's taxes to pay for their benefits.

I'm retired, not "government dependent", do indeed pay taxes out the yazoo and am not in favor of raising anyone's taxes.

Wanna see this econmy take off? Lower taxes. Liberals just don't get that.

[Lurker]

What happens to our democracy when a majority of American voters depend on the government for a paycheck?

War.

[Cobra64]

[Iron Munro]

I know of several people in the 30 - 40 age bracket who are rearranging their affairs to get off the salary treadmill where taxes and FICA are deducted in advance.

They are incorporating so gains can be treated as corporate profits, working on plans to generate income that can be treated as capital gains or they are looking for other ways to protect their income.

Wealthy people have been doing this for years but these are middle class people who are P.O.’d to the breaking point.
They and are determined to minimize the amount they are forced to contribute to the moocher economy Obama is building.

[petercooper]

bttt

[MIchaelTArchangel]

What we need is a minimum income tax rate that EVERYONE must pay, say 5.00%, to do away with the huge number of people who pay no income taxes and therefore want tax rates on everyone else increased.

[nascarnation]

I’ve talked about the Baraqqi coalition for months.

Illegals
Welfare recipients
Union members
Minorities
Idiot libs

Add them up and you get scary close to a voting majority, I’m afraid.

I do hold out some hope for 010 when the Messiah is not on the ballot and we can go after individual Dems in Congress.

Pray for gridlock.

[Publius6961]

what happens to democratic society when non-producers can vote themselves benefits at the expense of the producing class?

This has been happening, and growing, since the mid-sixties. My only real amazement is that it actually worked for so long without a murmur from the producers ("progressive" tax rates anyone?), but the greed of the parasites was somewhat checked by never having all three branches of government firmly on "their" side.

That is about to change and the conclusion can naively be called a big explosive surprise or, more realistically, the second, bloody civil war. The results can'r be pretty no matter what the outcome.

We live in interesting times.