When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.

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Notes from Wikiquote

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Benjamin Franklin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.