Originally Posted by
Okla-homey
Only thing I figure that is virtually assured is higher federal taxes. The People have spoken and the new Congress (as keepers of the federal purse strings) clearly have a mandate to give away even more money than they do now.
Other than that, don't look for much else to change over the next two years.
That is all.
I'm afraid you're right, Homey. I asked my husband to stop on his way to work this morning, empty the bank account into a trash bag, and set it at the curb for pick-up.
Although the attribution is murky, Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tytler has been credited with writing about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" around the year 1787. Our new country was trying to decide on a form of government for ourselves, and he cautioned,
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Although technically we are a republic, not a democracy, this election reflects that we as a nation are gravitating more and more toward the politicians and judges who promise the most benefits and instant gratification.
For those of us who work, it has been estimated that we should expect a $2000 tax increase for anyone earning $50,000/year.