Just a reminder that the government doesn't actually generate any money. The only money it can spend is money that it must first take from taxpayers. So if the government is going to give everyone $5000, then it must first take $5000 from everyone before it can pledge to give it back.
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...
Actually according to Wikipedia, the quote is of debatable attribution. And there are a couple different versions of this quote going around. (The other one reads: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits...")
Being a liberal, when I first heard that quote, I immediately thought about private corporations who got government subsidizes with taxpayer dollars. But I soon discovered that this quote was equally popular with conservatives. (Conservatives, of course, thought the quote applied to poor people getting welfare benefits.)
But, in 2026, I don't think there can be any debate about which side of the aisle this quote currently applies to.
This Week in Booktube: September 13, 2026
(These are the Booktube videos I watched this week. As always, I encourage you also to check out each of the videos I've linked to down below. Support Booktube. And let me know what you've watched this past week.)
On August 28, 2014, U.S. president Barack Obama held a live press conference in which he discussed the prospect of escalating the U.S. military response to the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS). He wore a tan suit for the conference, designed by Martin Greenfield Clothiers. It received considerable attention, with whether it was appropriate for the subject matter of terrorism being discussed in the media. The issue remained prominent for several days and was widely discussed, often humorously, on television talk shows.[a]
This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost. For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:
