Page 80 - TrumpsEconEra_Flat

3: THE CHOICE IS

OURS TO MAKE

he United States is a republic, a political
Tsystem based on law and tempered by a
democracy. A threat to our freedom comes when
society chooses to tip the scales too far in either
direction. Too much republic that is not restrained by
popular vote tends toward oligarchy, which is a political
system ruled by a few. On the other hand, when the law
does not constrain the majority of voters, the majority
could vote to take most everything from the minority.
In a republic with good laws, the law protects the
minority from the majority.
Only white male property owners (about 10 to 16
percent of the population) could vote at the beginning
of America’s republic. Because all voters had skin in
the game, there was less chance that the majority of
voters would raid the Treasury. States gradually
dropped the property requirements, and eventually,
other groups gained the right to vote.
James Madison, known as the father of the
Constitution, warned us against making poor choices:

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