[quote=4plexowner]A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. A. Tyler

If I understand correctly, our founding fathers did not create a democracy, they created a republic where the only people who could vote were property owners

I believe democracy is workable IF the vote is limited to stake-holders – once non-stake-holders are allowed to vote, Mr. Tyler’s quote above becomes true

Not sure how to define ‘stake-holder’ in today’s society – much easier to define who is NOT a stake-holder but I don’t want to get the bleeding-heart liberals spun up[/quote]

Yes, I heard a recent stat that 40% of US citizens don’t pay a single cent in taxes, yet they can vote themselves new, costly government programs.

At a state level, I think the prime example was the approval of the high-speed rail system up to S.F., costing us billions. When this was approved, I knew for sure that we were all doomed.

I can’t wait for the next proposisition mandating that all children get their own pony.