Benjamin Franklin on Voting for Money

The Quote: by Benjamin Franklin on Voting for Money

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic.” -Benjamin Franklin on Voting for Money

Analysis:

Benjamin Franklin makes a great point in this quotation. It is similar to the problem I presented in my “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul” post.

Welfare is an insidious problem because it becomes permanent and long lasting almost immediately upon being instituted. Just think of Social Security. It is a constantly growing program that soon won’t be bringing in enough to be paid for. But we can’t do away with it or resolve the problems with it because the people have learned that they can vote for money. That is unsustainable, and if it isn’t resolved it might be the end of our republic.

Furthermore, it makes no sense to trust the government to spend our money wisely. Just think of all the big spending problems that have come to light recently. They show that while the government does do some good things, it is also very irresponsible with money.

Because of that, private citizens should be left to invest on their own. There are low cost and intuitive ways to invest for beginners, and more advanced readings, such as Security Analysis for more advanced investors. Singapore has an excellent system that encourages citizens to invest for retirement on their own. It costs the government little, citizens can create retirement plans fit for themselves.

I think that would be the way to do it. The government taxes us less, leaving citizens with more money in their pockets and cutting out the middle man. That is a recipe for economic success. We should follow Singapore’s lead in adopting it.

By: Gen Z Conservative

Image from AZ Quotes