Chapter Six - Economy in Trouble
"Nothing is surer than death and taxes," goes the oft-repeated joke. But to the Romans of the Empire it was no joke -for many, it was truly hard to decide which was worse!
The economic oppression of the later Empire increasingly ate the spirit, loyalty and pride out of the citizenry, high and low, and fostered a rash of other ills.
It tore away at community and national spirit.
The costs of running a gigantic empire were massive. They caused a perpetual administrative struggle to maintain a stable economy.
The ever-burgeoning government bureaucracy became horribly expensive. Especially after Diocletian (late third century), the greatly enlarged military establishment caused great economic strain. Food, supplies, weapons, new frontier posts and fortification of towns cost fantastic amounts. Extravagant and excessive spending on buildings and engineering works added to the financial load.

It took a veritable army of officials to man and work the complicated dual supply and demands of both the government services and the military. This necessitated laying still heavier burdens of taxation upon already overburdened people.
There were land taxes, property taxes, occupation taxes, poll taxes, crop taxes, commercial taxes ... taxes on almost everything. No stone was left unturned for revenues.
There were other economic problems which aggravated the revenue problem. Rising prices, loss of money's purchasing power, the escape of the rich from taxation, the poor growing poorer, the decline of production, soil exhaustion and droughts, disease epidemics decimating provinces, peasant rebellions, brigandage, barbarian incursions and expensive wars - all violently shook and weakened the economic superstructure of the Empire.

Agriculture in Trouble
While commerce and industry were important to the economic base of the Empire, agriculture was the chief source of wealth. Hence, landowners were heavily taxed. The poor had special troubles. The rich could afford great numbers of cheap slaves to work their vast estates. The poor small farmer couldn't compete.
"The big farmers could undersell him, both in cattle and in produce, in the market.The result was that in course of time the small independent farmer was driven to the wall" (James Thomson, Economic and Social History of the Middle Ages).
The small farmer either had to sell out and flee to the city or become a tenant farmer, hardly better than a slave.
Forced to mortgage a part, then all of his farm, he usually found himself evicted from his land by a covetous grand proprietor who bought the mortgage from the broker.
"Latin literature abounds with complaints regarding this evil, which thinking men saw was sapping the vitality of the nation.... The free yeoman class, that middle class which is the bone and sinew of every healthy society, was gradually being crushed out. But the protests of these enlightened citizens went for naught. The evil of land monopoly was spread over the whole Roman Empire" (ibid., p. 33).
And at the same time, imported foodstuffs from newly conquered lands were undercutting the small farmer's prices. Since the Empire always imported more than it exported, the balance of trade was always against Rome. The heart of the Empire suffered at times from its own version of trade war.
There were other resulting evils.
"Many of the dispossessed gave up the struggle and drifted to the towns there to become dependents or clients of the rich, or to be engulfed in the increasing idle proletariat of the cities fed at public expense (the annona) and amused with the baths and the circus" (ibid., p. 32).
That is a familiar story, reminding us of the evils of present-day skyrocketing welfarism and the massive migration to urban areas from the farms.

Farmers Fleeing the Land
As in Rome, small farmers today are leaving the fields in droves and fleeing to the cities, aggravating problems already there. Small farmers today just can't make it. Increasingly farm buildings lie desolate. Many farmers can't meet the expenses of modern farming at the prices they are receiving. Only the growing number of agricultural monoliths make a respectable profit!
"Since the end of World War II, more than 20 million Americans have abandoned the countryside to take up residence in the nation's cities and suburbs. The great exodus was prompted in part by a technological revolution in agriculture which put 3 million farms out of business and 6 million farmers out of work. It also was stimulated by television, national-circulation magazines and other mass media which brought the age-old lure of city lights right into the living rooms of town and country America" (The Drovers Journal 1969).
Farming today is no longer looked upon as a noble occupation - witness the fleeing of the farmers' sons and daughters to the alluring jobs and glamour of city life. Reliable, steady hired hands are becoming a thing of the past.

Galloping Inflation
Look at the Roman experience: "By the third quarter of the third century the silver coins had become copper pieces washed in silver and issues of gold had virtually ceased. There was a vast inflation; by the end of the third century prices had risen to two hundred times the second-century level" (Roman Civilization, edited by J. P. V. D. Balsdon, p. 73).
M. Rostovtzeff, in his book, Rome, put it this way: "The emperors in their need for money issued a vast quantity of coin. Not possessing enough of the precious metals for these issues, they alloyed the gold with silver, the silver with copper, and the copper with lead, thus debasing the coinage and ruining in the end men who had once been rich. This measure cut at the root of trade and industry. The government mint in the third century became a vast manufactory of base coin" (p. 276).
Diocletian, in the late third century, struggled to restore the quality of the economy, and for a time succeeded in establishing a semblance of order.
But the financial state was in such turmoil that he had to proclaim an edict fixing maximum prices on all goods to curb inflation.
Portions of that decree have come down to us and the following are a few telltale excerpts revealing the emperor's anguish at the collapsing economic situation.
"For, if the raging avarice ... which without regard for mankind, increases and develops by leaps and bounds ... almost from hour to hour, and even minute to minute, could be held in check by some regard for moderation but there is seen only a mad desire without control to pay no heed to the needs of many." (Elgin Groseclose, Money and Man - A Survey of Monetary Experience, p. 43).
Sound familiar? The modern version manifests itself in a continual push-cost spiral - fantastic wage demands, followed by commodity price increases, resulting in ballooning inflation! But Diocletian's edict backfired! Rather than fix prices, it made people afraid to sell. Therefore, demand skyrocketed and so did prices! Utter economic stagnation resulted. The price-fixing decree was a failure and abandoned within five years.
Even though Diocletian's and Constantine's total administrative and economic reforms were a temporary help to the Empire, the ultimate end continually crept closer and closer.
Another factor that played a part in the decline of the Empire needs mentioning. Many historians note that the economic base of the Empire was seriously shaken at times by rampant disease epidemics.
There was a devastating plague under Marcus Aurelius in the second century, and several more from time to time in the third century. As well, barbarian incursions added to these epidemics, causing loss of population in some areas for long periods. Also droughts and famine wrought havoc periodically. These, among other trends, played a part in weakening the Empire.

Dangers of Welfarism
Another significant factor that contributed to the breakdown of the character and spirit of the populace was welfare. The dole became a way of life.
Roman wealth and government welfare spoiled the citizenry. Many became so accustomed to government doles of food and other services that the government could ill afford to cut down these services lest it face a major uprising.
At times, the city of Rome had from one third to one half of the population receiving part or all of its subsistence from public charity. The problem faced all major cities of the Empire, but probably not to the same extent as in Rome.
Of' course, that shouldn't shock us in modern America and Britain. We are well on our way to advanced welfare states. And similar problems are bemoaned by despairing city officials everywhere in a modern America cursed by the burden of welfare loads!
The tragic lesson of Rome is again being ignored. -
"The history of the dole carries a warning.... Even under the Empire it became a permanently demoralizing factor in the social and economic life. People were schooled to expect something for nothing. This failure of the old Roman virtues of self-reliance and initiative was conspicuously shown in that part of the population that was on relief. It had far wider aspects. Emergencies that would not have dismayed the men of the Republic were too much for the men of the later Empire" (H. J. Haskell, The New Deal in Old Rome - How Government in the Ancient World Tried to Deal with Modern Problems, pp. 228-229).

Economic History Repeated - Crushing Taxation
It doesn't take a degree in economics to see the many economic crises in our modern nations!
Welfare and the dole are only one aspect of the devastating financial burden. Ever-increasing taxation is another demoralizing load the public has to carry. Every American and Briton is more than well aware of the voracious tax bite which gobbles up a bigger chunk of his income with each passing year.
State and municipal taxes are rising astronomically. Cities are finding themselves at the end of the taxation rope. With the exodus of the white-collar middle class to the suburbs, city tax bases are crumbling.
Latest statistics reveal that all U. S. taxes combined - federal, state and local - consume more than 35 cents of every dollar of national income.
Taxes, combined with the evils of inflation, are causing many to practice the principle of "live today, forget tomorrow."
"People have no reason to save their money," said a secretary in London. If you keep it the government will soon find some way of taking it from you."
Taxpayers complain they realize little for their money. Services in education and other vital functions get poorer; many get pinched or curtailed.
Our English-speaking peoples are merely repeating the financial mistakes of the Roman Empire - and surprisingly also the mistakes of a pre-Roman people recorded in Biblical history.

When Ancient Israel Chose to Reject God
Long ago when ancient Israel wanted to replace God's government with a monarchy like the surrounding Gentile nations, the prophet Samuel was instructed to give them solemn warning of what such a government would be like. In the language of the day, he warned the people that the king would take their sons and daughters to serve in his armies, that it would cost them dearly to finance such a government and that the people would cry out to God because of the burden of man's rule. But the people wanted their own way. And God allowed them to have it - to teach them a lesson.
The modern descendants of those ancient Israelites have still not learned that lesson! Today the burden of big government is heavier than ever. Taxes soar and the offspring of our populace still spill their blood in an endless round of wars in the world's "hot spots." Since the first World War, how many parents have cried out to God in anguish, "Why did you take my son on the battlefield?" And when have people not cried out about the staggering weight of taxation? But notice the words of the Creator:
"And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king [government] which ye shall have chosen ... and the Lord will not hear you in that day" (I Sam. 8:18).

Soaring Inflation, Plunging Into Debt
Far more relative to the average American is the soaring inflation that is eating away at everyone's standard of living. Nobody likes it, but few accept their guilt in causing it! Millions on small incomes, especially the poor, aged or needy welfare recipients, are oppressed by inflation but can do nothing about it they are hapless, helpless victims.
Despite high interest rates, millions upon millions of people plunge headlong into debt. They live for the pleasure of the moment, and pursue an endless array of gadgets and thrills. But the "piper has to be paid." Once again, it is the experience of ancient Rome being repeated.
Writes historian William Steams Davis in his book, The Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome, pages 163, 164, 167: "As an almost unavoidable corollary of the huge Roman fortunes, went the accumulation of debts. Even men of grave and respectable habits caught the mania of their age, that of living beyond their incomes. The typical Roman of birth and fashion, may then be imagined as regularly in debt, and frequently on the brink of ruin."
The average American is in the same sinking financial boat. Total debt in the United States, both public and private, stands at an astronomical 40 trillion dollars as of March 2005.
Debt living is the typical American way of life! Sixty-five percent of all Americans use instalment credit and one third of these are believed to be on the brink of serious financial trouble, according to one expert.

A Flood of Imports
On top of all this is the growing threat of worldwide trade war.
In fact, the first warning shots of a vast, three cornered trade battle have already been fired. The trouble is few have heard the volley of shots.
Charges and counter charges of protectionism, discrimination and bad faith are hurtling back and forth across both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Both Japan and the European Union have become economic super giants - far surpassing expectations. Both produce inexpensive, but high quality goods.
Yet, instead of gearing up for the fight for economic survival, Americans and Britons are seemingly more interested in battling among themselves. Their major concern is to enjoy an ever-higher standard of living.