Quote stands true today

Dear Editor:
Here’s a quote that’s always apt, but especially now in Washington, D.C. and Hoboken:
“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 gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote 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.” Alexander Tyler, Edinburgh, 1787.

T. Weed

© 2000, Newspaper Media Group