(Townhall) “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” — Alexis de Tocqueville
“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” — Benjamin Franklin
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.” — Historian Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler
Thieves redistribute income. They take money from someone who has earned it and give it to somebody else — usually themselves. It is possible that the thief actually needs the money more than the person he stole it from; most thieves are poor for the simple reason that they’d rather steal than work for a living. But yes, the “poorer” person might truly obtain something he needs (“wants”) more than the “richer” person he robs. That’s common in human history.