#ending

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. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage. ↗

— Alexander Fraser Tytler

#federal-spending #fiscal-policy #age

I was not interested in spending 10 years in the culture wars. ↗

— Leon Wieseltier

#i #interested #not interested #spending #wars

Kill every enemy twice, Wilky said. Better than gettin' shot by a soldier pretending to be dead. ↗

— Joseph Bruchac

#enemy #possum #pretending-death #shot-twice #twice

Once someone dreams a dream, it can't just drop out of existence. But if the dreamer can't remember it, what becomes of it? It lives on in Fantastica, deep under earth. There are forgotten dreams stored in many layers. The deeper one digs, the closer they are. All Fantastica rests on a foundation of forgotten dreams. ↗

— Michael Ende

#dreams

In my limited realm of experience, beginnings led to endings. ↗

— Ellen Hopkins

#endings #experience #experience

Is it just a coincidence that as the portion of our income spent on food has declined, spending on health care has soared? In 1960 Americans spent 17.5 percent of their income on food and 5.2 percent of national income on health care. Since then, those numbers have flipped: Spending on food has fallen to 9.9 percent, while spending on heath care has climbed to 16 percent of national income. I have to think that by spending a little more on healthier food we could reduce the amount we have to spend on heath care. ↗

— Michael Pollan

#health #health-care #healthcare #healthful #healthy

We are in a bit of a policy box and it's going to require us being willing to give up one of the two, which is it's okay to take on more deficits but lets put in some massive spending. Alternatively to say, 'we're going to go through structural unemployment for a while because we want to address deficits.' ↗

— Indra Nooyi

#because #being #bit #box #deficits

Believe me, you lose more than a gallon of fluids during a race. You could lose between six and 10 pounds during a race, depending on hot it is. ↗

— Michael Andretti

#between #could #depending #during #fluids

There’s a trick to the 'graceful exit.' It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, or a relationship is over — and let it go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out. ↗

— Ellen Goodman

#endings #life

To respect the dignity of a relationship also implies accepting the end when it comes. Except in my mind, except in my dreams, where the aftertaste of her still lingers. ↗

— André P. Brink

#endings #relationships #dreams