1.   Basically that argument was simply that the country could not afford to go on expanding non-productive sectors such as social services.

2.   Can the country afford such a stiff bill for democracy?

3.   Rich countries can afford to spend money on the environment, but few have made it a priority in the past.

4.   When communications were inadequate and weak, it was argued, the country could ill afford the luxury of competing media.

5.   The country could not afford the luxury of an election.

6.   Some countries cannot afford to lay off army and other forces because of the mass unemployment and possible poverty that people might face.

7.   Few countries can afford increments in their recurrent budget.

8.   And they are so expensive and so various that no country can afford to have one of every sort.

9.   Any such case would bring warnings that the country could ill afford the loss of another big auditing firm.