“We just can’t afford it!”

While "every America child heard that, at one time or another, in the home in which he or she was raised," Patrick J. Buchanan asks, "How many times in the last decade have the political leaders of either party stood up and declared, 'No, we cannot afford this?'" — Spending Ourselves to Death.

Mr. Buchanan concludes, "When a democracy reaches a point where the politicians cannot say no to the people, and both parties are competing for votes by promising even more spending or even lower taxes, or both, the experiment is about over."