Democracies can only endure as long as a majority of the citizens do not vote themselves the money of the minority. The United States under Obama is rapidly approaching the tipping point. California appears to be tipping over now, and New York is already gone, as discussed here. New York has been on the path to destruction for 80 years and California for about 30 years. There may still be time for the rest of the country to avoid Richard Henry Lee's perceived danger of "elective despotism."