The people didn't get us into the mess we are in, so why do the people, once again, have to bail out the D.C. thugs; till next time? Don't raise my taxes another red cent... CUT YOUR IDIOTIC/RECKLESS SPENDING!
Precisely... Point is that the electorate is ultimately responsible for both the numerator and the denominator. If the citizenry elects representatives that are not capable of cutting spending, the citizenry must pay for their failure through higher taxes. Isn't that ultimately what democracy is all about? Again, something that the Irish have been recently demonstrating. Huh? Who got you into the mess then? Did the politicians elect themselves? Who should be responsible for the errors/sins of your elected officials, if not the people who voted for them?
Ricter, there's you're answer. Much of Europe is a stones throw from Greece, for the same reasons California is. We can't continue down this road.
Huh, my ass. You think the D.C. thugs are doing what the people who voted for them want them to do? Have you checked the approval ratings of Congress lately? These "elected officials" are not doing the will of the people.
Well, don't vote for them next time, recall them, impeach them, whatever... Failing that (let's say you're a minority) and provided you're that unhappy, renounce your citizenship and find a better place to live. If you're not sufficiently unhappy to leave, quit your whining and just grin and bear it. That, in my limited understanding, is how "democracy" is supposed to work.
Ultimately you're right, but for a different reason than "it's spending". Mankind is above Earth's carrying capacity, and the effects of this are being transmitted through various channels, the cost of doing business, hyper-competition and stratification, the rising difficulty of earning a living wage, rising prices, etc. I have not fleshed out this system, it's still barely above the level of intuition, so don't "gotcha" me, please.
Nothing wrong with that... However, I am curious as to who you think should bear ultimate responsibility for things going wrong in a democratic society.