Agree 100% with everything except for the last paragraph. IMO, the system or rather ideal of democracy is irrevocably broken and has been for quite some time. There are numerous examples to cite of wildly unpopular laws, bills, actions taken "for the benefit" of the general populace that are nothing more than further enslavement, for lack of a better term. You did hit the nail on the head with regards to the 180k for retired teachers vs salaries for the younger generation and, most importantly, how upside down this ponzi system has become. The moral hazard play is just so completely embedded into this system now, that literally the entire fabric of the economy is just a front running of bailouts for every sector. After the shitstorm that everybody lived thru 2-3 years ago, I had this naive notion that perhaps more people would awake to what a scam all of this was. I suppose more people are aware of it, but they are well behind the curve in so far as actually believing it to be true. I think the very core fabric of some people's belief systems have been rocked to the core (the kind of fools who think that everything non-mainstream is a conspiracy). Well, now they're becoming tuned into the fact that it's a completely unsustainable situation.