They evolved INTO democracies...then collapsed. Even Greece and Rome
started
as republics, then degenerated into democracies...just like we're doing.

Degenerated? I always thought democracy was the better of the two. At least
it always was through all those games of Civ.


of countries which have reverted to dictatorship after a period of
democracy, have since gone BACK to democracy.

And what is different in their composition since the reverted to
democracy?

I don't know offhand. Germany's democracy after the third reich, I suspect,
was different than before. I would guess that the second incarnation of
democracy either gave more power to the individual, or more to the state,
depending on the particular case.

What am I supposed to be agreeing with? Most people are capable of
understanding that money doesn't grow on trees.

Capable yes...dealing it with, no.

I disagree.

The trouble is having
representatives who can't or won't tell their constituents that the well
is
dry.

When they do, they get bounced from office.

I definitely disagree. At least the time it takes for them to get bounced
needs improvement.


Or who say that the well is dry when it isn't.
I take issue with his assertion that we're going to vote ourselves into
debt
until we collapse under it. Not that it's untrue, but he doesn't seem to
allow for the idea that people will eventually get wise to what they're
doing TO THEMSELVES.

It allows for it, but tell me an instance when the "addicts" have ever
moved
to avert the inevitiable reckoning.

The American Revolution, the American Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea,
Vietnam.......


And the Repub's only milked the booming tech sectors until the dot.com
"bubble" burst.

Disagree here as well. If congress really could move that fast on a sudden
economic trend, we really would be in good shape.


Anyone who allows a multi trillion dollar debt to acumulate
against them ought to be prepared for a disappointment when they expect
payment due.

Like Social Security?

Bingo! Not what I was referring to, but that wasn't an unexpected answer. It
WILL be interesting to see how administrations handle that big hand grenade,
won't it?


One hundred forty years of deficit spending paid up in ten? All based on
five boom years? Get real!

I don't think that's accurate. We haven't been in deficit spending for 140
years, number one. Number two, projected budget surpluses only a few years
ago were in the hundreds of billions, and growing. Even with debt in the
teens of trillions, 10 years at that rate of surplus isn't far out of the
ballpark. The light was at the end of the tunnel, until the Great Giveaway.


Until Dubya decided to spread the wealth? Yeah...$300 sure bought MY
vote.....Yessir.....

Well, send it back.

We can't spend our way to prosperity anymore than we can tax out way to
it.

On that, I agree.