Well said. It is a big problem for a democracy. As AF Tytler said, "a democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." Whenever a reasonable politician offers a logical but painful solution, then ten more populists will jump out, promising that they would rule without any pain. Only extremely responsible and smart populace can resist that. I guess it's possible, like in Switzerland, but really hard.
We already saw it with gasoline prices in France. They tried to apply the simple logic of increased price and reduced consumption. Immediately, there were riots.
Thanks, John, for rattling cages, opening some eyes, and being willing to pull no punches. Someone's gotta do it, and you always seem to be the one leading the charge.
Well said. It is a big problem for a democracy. As AF Tytler said, "a democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." Whenever a reasonable politician offers a logical but painful solution, then ten more populists will jump out, promising that they would rule without any pain. Only extremely responsible and smart populace can resist that. I guess it's possible, like in Switzerland, but really hard.
We already saw it with gasoline prices in France. They tried to apply the simple logic of increased price and reduced consumption. Immediately, there were riots.
Scary.
Thanks, John, for rattling cages, opening some eyes, and being willing to pull no punches. Someone's gotta do it, and you always seem to be the one leading the charge.