Yesterday we began drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Empire and the path that America is now on. Because of the long list of complex issues, we only managed to get about halfway through the main reasons. Today we pick up where we left off and the remaining items on the list seem to have even more relevance to America than what was discussed yesterday. Those items are:
Failing Economy
Unemployment of the Working Classes (The Plebs)
The 'Mob' and the cost of the 'Games'
Decline in Ethics and Values
Slave Labor
Natural Disasters
Christianity
Barbarian Invasion
Failing economy: As the flow of captured wealth to Rome diminished, it became increasingly difficult to fund the Legions defending the far reaches of the Empire. There had always been a wide disparity between the elite and the poor of Rome which exacerbated Rome’s economic problems as opportunities for employment dwindled among those of the lower classes. Of course the Roman elite still expected luxuries from the Far East and an increasing amount of gold was used to purchase those goods, creating a shortage of gold to coin money in Rome. The resulting unemployment, high taxes and inflation placed the government at constant risk of bankruptcy.
Teddy Roosevelt lauded the idea of a progressive tax system and the redistribution of wealth although he never had the opportunity to put either into practice. Instead, we would have to wait until Woodrow Wilson for a progressive income tax and FDR to figure a way to use that money to advance an agenda that would culminate in today’s entitlement culture. By abandoning capitalist principals and punishing the attainment of wealth through the progressive tax system, we have seriously hampered the ability of our economy to grow in proportion to her population.
The increasing numbers of people that have been raised as second and third generation recipients of government support programs have created an entire class of people that rely solely on government instead of their own abilities, further depleting the treasury. Worst yet is that the number of people that pay the taxes are slowly becoming the minority with those that pay no taxes or collect government benefits now sitting at 47%. Our government has turned to high taxes and credit to continue funding these benefit programs rather than returning to our capitalist roots. The resulting debt has created a shortage of money in the private sector, further damaging our economic stability and creating an unsustainable trend of shifting economic activity from the private to the public sector.
Unemployment of the Working class: Since this title ties directly into the segment above, I will only add that the shortage of capital in the private sector and the threat of increased taxes and government regulation has severely impacted the job market in the United States. As long as business must compete with an out of control government for available credit and as long as business owners operate under the threat of increased government tax and regulatory liabilities, the unemployment trends will not reverse. Our bizarre trade agreements and aggressive taxes have done little to benefit the manufacturing communities within the United States and many of those jobs will never return as long as there is an economic advantage to manufacture overseas. The rest have been regulated out of existence or have been so seriously impacted that they are near collapse.
The 'Mob' and the cost of the 'Games': In order to placate the mobs of unemployed workers, the Roman government found increasing amounts of money going to fund gladiatorial games to occupy the masses. Of course this was only a temporary means to quiet civil unrest and more spectacular events had to be presented to keep the mobs occupied. The games would eventually consume more that a full third of the total income of the Empire.
Of course we don’t have bloody competitions to amuse the poor and unemployed but we do throw an awful lot of money at the problem through government entitlement programs. The problem is as the government spends more, they consume the monies that would ordinarily stay in the economy to create the jobs that would eventually, alleviate unemployment and poverty. There is a minor percentage of the population that would always be unemployed because of disabilities, poor life choices and yes, even because they were raised to be government dependents. Unfortunately, the addition of high unemployment to that base has stressed the entitlement structure to near collapse and it is reaching the point where our public outlay for these programs is nearly on par with the expense of the Roman games.
Decline in ethics and values: Do I really need to expand on this? I think anyone that has read the news lately would agree that the ethics and values of our nation are being seriously challenged. Not because the average American is so depraved, but rather because we are constantly inundated with legal challenges from our friends on the left to accept the unacceptable. There is even an ongoing full court press to introduce many of these radical and morally bankrupt ideas into our schools to infect our children before they have fully developed the moral armor needed to fend off the assault. Parents are being denigrated by these people and they are trying to convince our children that we are old fools that just don’t know any better. Once a society has lost respect for its elders it has lost its past and without its past, it has no future.
Slave Labor: Rome captured many people from occupied lands that would work as slaves for the Empire. Slave labor was essential to Rome because so many Roman men were under arms to defend this expansive Empire. Since slaves were disposable, slave labor added to the decline of morals and ethics as happens when people routinely treated other humans with such miserable disregard. Since slave labor replaced so many Roman men, Rome also suffered from technological stagnation as skilled labor was replaced with unskilled slaves performing a trained task.
Hmm. This is a difficult one. I could comment on our own spotted past but America was courageous enough to abolish slavery and even fought a bloody civil war to bring about abolition. Instead I will say that the oppressive taxation used to fund the distributive policies of Progressive politicians has effectively created slaves of anyone that pays taxes. The taxes are not fair and because they are easily attained, politicians have no compelling interest in reducing them. In fact, Progressives routinely vilify the wealthy to justify their acts of legalized theft just as slave owners dehumanized their human possessions to justify the harsh treatment of other men. Our wealthiest Americans now bear so much of this nation’s financial burden that they are fast approaching the point where not working and living on their savings is becoming increasingly appealing. Tell me that is not an induced loss of ethics and values?
Natural Disasters: Well, Rome faced them and so do we.
Christianity: Christianity not only challenged the established faith structure of the Roman Empire but the excessive and immoral practices of the ruling elite. The adoption of Christianity struck at the heart of the core of Roman culture and fundamentally changed the entire structure of Roman society.
Today we have a growing number of people that show open disdain of America’s Judaeo-Christian roots. This country was founded with deeply religious beliefs and without those beliefs; the tenant that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights suddenly rests on very shaky ground. If God did not grant our rights, who did; Government; The Constitution? If they were granted by an act of law then they can certainly be denied by an act of law. Contrary to popular belief, the largest threat to our religious foundation is not being waged by Atheists or Muslims; it is being waged by the ecological movement. They are actively engaged in a fight to protect “mother” earth to the detriment of her human inhabitants. So misguided are these new fundamentalists, that some have embraced a new age religious belief that earth has a soul and awareness that must be honored. Some have even proposed that mankind should cease breeding and bring about the voluntary self-extinction of man so that the earth can finally heal from our horribly destructive ways.
Finally, Barbarian Invasion: Rome had conquered almost all of Europe but was faced with Barbarian assaults on nearly every one of her new borders. The expanse of the Empire and the decline of their economy left them economically unable to fend off Barbarian attack and as the Roman Empire receded, the Barbarians followed their retreat.
We aren’t facing Mongol hoards or waves of Vandals but we are faced with an equally brutal enemy, partially because of our interference in their home lands but also because their religious beliefs do not tolerate any religious faiths other than their own. Of course I am referring to Muslim radicals. Like the Barbarians that the Roman’s faced, radical Muslims will not stop until we are dead, or they are. Unfortunately, they are in a race to obtain weapons that will make their attacks against us even more devastating.
So there it is. What truly frightens me is that none of my attempts to parallel the fall of Rome with the current actions of America are really a stretch of the imagination. So the question is “What do we do now?” Do we continue down the same path until our society collapses under its own weight and the Barbarians are at the gates or do we take the immediate and drastic steps needed to restore our culture and country to point in time before Progressive ideals began chipping away at our morals, economy and God given rights?
Paul
Failing Economy
Unemployment of the Working Classes (The Plebs)
The 'Mob' and the cost of the 'Games'
Decline in Ethics and Values
Slave Labor
Natural Disasters
Christianity
Barbarian Invasion
Failing economy: As the flow of captured wealth to Rome diminished, it became increasingly difficult to fund the Legions defending the far reaches of the Empire. There had always been a wide disparity between the elite and the poor of Rome which exacerbated Rome’s economic problems as opportunities for employment dwindled among those of the lower classes. Of course the Roman elite still expected luxuries from the Far East and an increasing amount of gold was used to purchase those goods, creating a shortage of gold to coin money in Rome. The resulting unemployment, high taxes and inflation placed the government at constant risk of bankruptcy.
Teddy Roosevelt lauded the idea of a progressive tax system and the redistribution of wealth although he never had the opportunity to put either into practice. Instead, we would have to wait until Woodrow Wilson for a progressive income tax and FDR to figure a way to use that money to advance an agenda that would culminate in today’s entitlement culture. By abandoning capitalist principals and punishing the attainment of wealth through the progressive tax system, we have seriously hampered the ability of our economy to grow in proportion to her population.
The increasing numbers of people that have been raised as second and third generation recipients of government support programs have created an entire class of people that rely solely on government instead of their own abilities, further depleting the treasury. Worst yet is that the number of people that pay the taxes are slowly becoming the minority with those that pay no taxes or collect government benefits now sitting at 47%. Our government has turned to high taxes and credit to continue funding these benefit programs rather than returning to our capitalist roots. The resulting debt has created a shortage of money in the private sector, further damaging our economic stability and creating an unsustainable trend of shifting economic activity from the private to the public sector.
Unemployment of the Working class: Since this title ties directly into the segment above, I will only add that the shortage of capital in the private sector and the threat of increased taxes and government regulation has severely impacted the job market in the United States. As long as business must compete with an out of control government for available credit and as long as business owners operate under the threat of increased government tax and regulatory liabilities, the unemployment trends will not reverse. Our bizarre trade agreements and aggressive taxes have done little to benefit the manufacturing communities within the United States and many of those jobs will never return as long as there is an economic advantage to manufacture overseas. The rest have been regulated out of existence or have been so seriously impacted that they are near collapse.
The 'Mob' and the cost of the 'Games': In order to placate the mobs of unemployed workers, the Roman government found increasing amounts of money going to fund gladiatorial games to occupy the masses. Of course this was only a temporary means to quiet civil unrest and more spectacular events had to be presented to keep the mobs occupied. The games would eventually consume more that a full third of the total income of the Empire.
Of course we don’t have bloody competitions to amuse the poor and unemployed but we do throw an awful lot of money at the problem through government entitlement programs. The problem is as the government spends more, they consume the monies that would ordinarily stay in the economy to create the jobs that would eventually, alleviate unemployment and poverty. There is a minor percentage of the population that would always be unemployed because of disabilities, poor life choices and yes, even because they were raised to be government dependents. Unfortunately, the addition of high unemployment to that base has stressed the entitlement structure to near collapse and it is reaching the point where our public outlay for these programs is nearly on par with the expense of the Roman games.
Decline in ethics and values: Do I really need to expand on this? I think anyone that has read the news lately would agree that the ethics and values of our nation are being seriously challenged. Not because the average American is so depraved, but rather because we are constantly inundated with legal challenges from our friends on the left to accept the unacceptable. There is even an ongoing full court press to introduce many of these radical and morally bankrupt ideas into our schools to infect our children before they have fully developed the moral armor needed to fend off the assault. Parents are being denigrated by these people and they are trying to convince our children that we are old fools that just don’t know any better. Once a society has lost respect for its elders it has lost its past and without its past, it has no future.
Slave Labor: Rome captured many people from occupied lands that would work as slaves for the Empire. Slave labor was essential to Rome because so many Roman men were under arms to defend this expansive Empire. Since slaves were disposable, slave labor added to the decline of morals and ethics as happens when people routinely treated other humans with such miserable disregard. Since slave labor replaced so many Roman men, Rome also suffered from technological stagnation as skilled labor was replaced with unskilled slaves performing a trained task.
Hmm. This is a difficult one. I could comment on our own spotted past but America was courageous enough to abolish slavery and even fought a bloody civil war to bring about abolition. Instead I will say that the oppressive taxation used to fund the distributive policies of Progressive politicians has effectively created slaves of anyone that pays taxes. The taxes are not fair and because they are easily attained, politicians have no compelling interest in reducing them. In fact, Progressives routinely vilify the wealthy to justify their acts of legalized theft just as slave owners dehumanized their human possessions to justify the harsh treatment of other men. Our wealthiest Americans now bear so much of this nation’s financial burden that they are fast approaching the point where not working and living on their savings is becoming increasingly appealing. Tell me that is not an induced loss of ethics and values?
Natural Disasters: Well, Rome faced them and so do we.
Christianity: Christianity not only challenged the established faith structure of the Roman Empire but the excessive and immoral practices of the ruling elite. The adoption of Christianity struck at the heart of the core of Roman culture and fundamentally changed the entire structure of Roman society.
Today we have a growing number of people that show open disdain of America’s Judaeo-Christian roots. This country was founded with deeply religious beliefs and without those beliefs; the tenant that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights suddenly rests on very shaky ground. If God did not grant our rights, who did; Government; The Constitution? If they were granted by an act of law then they can certainly be denied by an act of law. Contrary to popular belief, the largest threat to our religious foundation is not being waged by Atheists or Muslims; it is being waged by the ecological movement. They are actively engaged in a fight to protect “mother” earth to the detriment of her human inhabitants. So misguided are these new fundamentalists, that some have embraced a new age religious belief that earth has a soul and awareness that must be honored. Some have even proposed that mankind should cease breeding and bring about the voluntary self-extinction of man so that the earth can finally heal from our horribly destructive ways.
Finally, Barbarian Invasion: Rome had conquered almost all of Europe but was faced with Barbarian assaults on nearly every one of her new borders. The expanse of the Empire and the decline of their economy left them economically unable to fend off Barbarian attack and as the Roman Empire receded, the Barbarians followed their retreat.
We aren’t facing Mongol hoards or waves of Vandals but we are faced with an equally brutal enemy, partially because of our interference in their home lands but also because their religious beliefs do not tolerate any religious faiths other than their own. Of course I am referring to Muslim radicals. Like the Barbarians that the Roman’s faced, radical Muslims will not stop until we are dead, or they are. Unfortunately, they are in a race to obtain weapons that will make their attacks against us even more devastating.
So there it is. What truly frightens me is that none of my attempts to parallel the fall of Rome with the current actions of America are really a stretch of the imagination. So the question is “What do we do now?” Do we continue down the same path until our society collapses under its own weight and the Barbarians are at the gates or do we take the immediate and drastic steps needed to restore our culture and country to point in time before Progressive ideals began chipping away at our morals, economy and God given rights?
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment