Re: And another thing

If I were creating a society from scratch, I would limit the franchise to those who were paying more in taxes than they were getting back. Otherwise, democracy always devolves into the public voting themselves public money.

I don't think so; weren't all major parties in the recent British elections promising substantial cuts in public spending?

And the value that someone is "getting back" from taxes is hard to quantify, as some of the ways we benefit from government spending are more intangible than others (for example, you benefit from the fact that your fellow citizens have a basic education as a result of public schooling).