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Old 02-11-2005, 09:29 PM   #1 (permalink)
sob
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How much do you value the right to vote?

In another thread, I made the statement that I wouldn't object if only property owners were allowed to vote in regard to property tax increases.

Another person used the reductio ad absurdum argument to point out that it might open the door to saying the unemployed couldn't vote for income tax increases.

I didn't have a problem with that, either.

Although I'm not sufficiently motivated (yet) to reference it, I believe that at the inception of this country (the US), only property owners could vote, period.

I also include quotes from Alexander Tyler:

Quote:
"Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves a largesse from the treasury. From that moment on, the majority will always vote for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that the democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy."
This was said during the time we were still 13 colonies.

I'll also include this quote from Frederic Bastiat (1801-1849):

Quote:
"A society based on a proper conception of law would be orderly and prosperous. But unfortunately, some will choose plunder over production if the former requires less effort than the latter. A grave danger arises when the class of people who make the law (legislation) turns to plunder. The result is "lawful plunder..."

At first, only the small group of lawmakers practices legal plunder. But that may set in motion a process in which the plundered classes, rather than seeking to abolish the perversion of law, instead strive to get in on it..."

One can identify legal plunder by looking for laws that authorize that one person's property be given to someone else. Such laws should be abolished "without delay."

But, he warns, "the person who profits from such law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights," his entitlements. Bastiat's advice is direct: "Do not listen to this sophistry by vested interests. The acceptance of these arguments will build legal plunder into a whole system. In fact, this has already occurred. The present-day delusion is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else."
I will admit that the Bastiat quote was edited by me--I left some things out that did not directly relate to the subject at hand.

While I'm not advocating (entirely) disenfranchising segments of the population, I do support the notion that a worker is entitled to the fruits of his/her labor, and NOT entitled to the earnings of others.

Does anyone think the above quotes are no longer accurate?
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