February 16, 2004
Finally, a legacy I can live with
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A couple of numbers in the NewsMax deal below
looked a little funny (19+29=48) so I started scouting for it's origin,
which led me to Snopes.
Oh, the numbers listed below are accurate (if dated), but this is what
I learned. That old quote we've all seen -- about "... voters
discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public
treasury ..," credited to Alexander Tyler? He
never said it. Since nobody has ever actually laid claim to it, I will. So, here it is -- Hey! A quote HAS to belong to somebody, right? So forever more I expect recognition and attribution for my claim.
 Okay, here's the NewsMax thing I spoke of -- Hey, I mean it. I want credit for my quote. I'll sue. (NewsMax) |
Without the 16th Amendment (http://www.wealth4freedom.com/16thHistory.htm) there'd be no "generous gifts from the public treasury" to bribe voters with.
http://www.wealth4freedom.com/16thHistory.htm
Posted by: AnnoyedOne at February 16, 2004 02:03 PMNot a chance of repealing that, but we might have a shot at term limits, which would diminish re-election pork, and giving the President line item veto power, which would shine a bright light on some Congressional follies.
Posted by: dick at February 16, 2004 04:09 PMWell that assumes that the President doesn't want "re-election pork" as well. The sad fact is that all politicians like to spend other peoples money its just a matter of degree, and even that distinction is disappearing (e.g. see the current Spender-In-Chief).
Its a shame the Founding Fathers didn't put a clause in the Constitution
"Congress shall make no law introducing an income or other Federal tax".
19 + 29 does equal 48.
Or is this some New Math thing?
Posted by: Kim du Toit at February 16, 2004 04:46 PMOh... never mind.
Posted by: Kim du Toit at February 16, 2004 04:47 PMCalifornia and New York aren't states. They're provinces of Mexico and France, respectively.
Posted by: Kim du Toit at February 16, 2004 04:49 PMthere should have been 50 states ...
Posted by: Rodger Schultz at February 16, 2004 05:52 PMOnly 42 after you nuke those other 8 ;-)
Those figures came from the famous red/blue COUNTY-BY-COUNTY map of the USA that we all saw after the '00 election. It was mainland only, meaning that Hawaii & Alaska weren't included in the map. Gore won Hawaii & Bush Alaska, thus the 48 state tallies.
Posted by: Ricky at February 16, 2004 09:27 PMde Tocqueville: paraphrased.
The American Republic will endure, until the Congress realizes it can bribe the people with their own money.
I think the quote most often cited was from a British MP around 1820 or so. He said something like,
"The death knell of democracy was sounded when the people discovered they could vote to open the public purse for their benefit."
Of course, he could have been plagiarizing deToqueville, depending on the exact date.
Posted by: sf at February 18, 2004 12:52 AM