Cicero 106 - 46 B.C.
When Julius Caesar was invading Britain in 55 A.D. Cicero was at home contemplating the growing weight of government dependents, and he of wrote:
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance."
My Friend Ray MacEdwards sent this to me, and it has so much significance that I just had to blog it.
So what Ray asks have we learned in the last 2,064 years
The actual quote is: "The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign hands should be curtailed, lest Rome fall."
Nothing!
1 comment:
If you're weary of being lectured and scolded by the offenders, reflect on this as well:
“It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expence, either by sumptuary laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expence, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will.” - Adam Smith
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