“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

[marmar]

- Benjamin Franklin


Republic, R.I.P.?

[DJ13]

1. We either take the big money out of politics, or we give up

[Lagomorph]

2. Yup

We either pay our bills and wean ourselves off government subsidies or we're done. It's hard enough to support the people who desperately need our help, but otherwise we all have to produce.

Life in America shouldn't be easy, but it can be rewarding.

[marmar]

3. Huh?

nt

[timeforpeace]

4. You seem to have hit closer to the mark of what Ben was saying.

[tkmorris]

5. And he was almost correct

What he didn't envision is that 200 years later votes wouldn't really be what won elections. Today MONEY wins elections, and it is lobbyists and corporations that pony up most of the money.

And yes, lobbyists and corporation DID find they could "vote themselves money", and it did indeed herald the end of the Republic.

[Mind_your_head]

6. +1

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Actually, Plato said that 2,200 years before Franklin...

and David Brooks just said it again today in the Times. It's an idea that just won't go away.

(However, it seems Brooks, being an evil conservative, should not be heeded or even read, even if he agrees with Plato and Ben Franklin.)