Washington is driving America toward a debt crisis we can't ignore any longer

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government .

Those words are widely attributed to Alexander Tytler, the Scottish judge and historian who lived from 1747 to 1813.

There is, however, some debate over the attribution.

Historians and researchers have questioned whether Tytler actually wrote the passage in the form in which it is commonly quoted, whether he expressed a similar idea that was later expanded and attributed to him, or whether the passage originated elsewhere.

The exact authorship may be debatable.

The warning itself is not.

Here is the prophetic quote: "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." SEN RAND PAUL: MY PLAN WOULD FORCE CONGRESS TO STOP OVERSPENDING YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY This is no idle warning.

Look at the United States today and the pattern is hard to miss.

This is exactly what is happening today.

Our founders were statesmen who sacrificed much to create a system focused on the common good.