Liberal Democracies must always seek to balance the right to pursue one's ambitions with the needs of those who can't compete. The former is taxed to support the latter, often leaving those in the middle in a precarious position. As America trends toward a majority of tax-filers who pay little or no federal income tax - currently about half - we increase the point where they are incentivized to vote for those who promise to "spread the wealth," not by making them more productive but by eating the rich. Those in the middle are invariably shoved closer to the bottom because there just isn't enough wealth - and never could be - to satisfy the needs and demands of the bottom half.
"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." - A.F. Tytler
"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." - A.F. Tytler