How Inflation Destroyed the Roman Empire

Posted on by

There were many reasons the Roman Empire fell but, inflation and government spending were huge parts.  Government stimulus programs and public works became common then as they are today.  People today underestimate the complexity of the Roman Empire but, their bureaucracy was almost as large as ours today.  Aqueducts were often created to give people employment just like “The Community Reinvestment Act” seeks to do today.  I find this interesting on many different levels.  For one, Rome’s policies were very similar to ours today.  They even had similar names like jobs bill and community reinvestment act.    There is a book written in the 1940s called the “New Deal in Old Rome” that compares Roman governance in the later Empire to New Deal programs.  The parallels are almost bizarre.

Then, just like today, government bureaucracy and spending were only part of the problem, the much bigger problem was inflation.  Inflation was rampant and brought the Empire to its knees.  The rates of inflation increased over time at a similar rate to that at which the United States is currently.

 

What is really staggering is that the Roman Empire’s fiscal transgressions are nothing compared to the modern United States’.  Rome had to dilute its coins by recalling them every few years and watering them down with other metals, while the U.S. can simply print bills of credit to infinity with no checks in place at all.  Nero would be envious indeed of the American State’s monetary power.  Rome also centralized everything into its capital city and attempted to regulate its provinces from afar but, again this is nothing compared to the centralization that Washington DC has been able to accomplish.  For all the corruption that infected the Roman government, it is tame compared to the corruption of the American Political Class. Here is a brief presentation on Roman Inflation.

This one is a bit longer.

 

 

35,290 thoughts on “How Inflation Destroyed the Roman Empire”

  3. Having read this I believed it was rather enlightening.
    I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this short
    article together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading
    and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!

    Reply ↓

  13. Planowanie układów elektrycznych w domach jednorodzinnych jest procesem niezbędnym do przeprowadzenia precyzyjnego rozważenia potrzeb technicznych i stosowania obowiązujących przepisów. Głównym celem przygotowania projektu stanowi zapewnienie ochrony użytkowników i optymalnego działania sieci elektrycznej.

    Na początku należy dokonać dokładne badanie potrzeb instalacyjnych oraz ustalić przewidywane obciążenia oraz odpowiednie metody zabezpieczeń przed zagrożeniami elektrycznymi. Kolejnym etapem stanowi opracowaniu szczegółowej dokumentacji technicznej, w której diagramy instalacji oraz specyfikację komponentów.

    Kluczowym czynnikiem planowania jest wybór trwałych komponentów, które powinny spełniać przepisy bezpieczeństwa. Należy pamiętać, żeby każda część ma wpływ na ogólne działanie instalacji. Dodatkowo ważne pozostaje zapewnienie prostoty serwisowania i możliwości rozbudowy na kolejnych etapach.

    Reasumując, reguły tworzenia systemów elektrycznych opierają się na starannym planowaniu i przestrzeganiu aktualnych standardów. Przemyślane planowanie umożliwia niezawodne działanie instalacji oraz redukuje zagrożenia porażeniem. Dlatego też każdy projekt musi spełniać aktualnymi normami, co zapewnia efektywności i bezproblemowej eksploatacji instalacji.

    Reply ↓

  18. I am really enjoying the theme/design of your web site.
    Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues?
    A handful of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks
    great in Opera. Do you have any solutions to help fix this issue?

    Reply ↓

  21. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I think that you ought to write more about this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t talk
    about these topics. To the next! Cheers!!

    Reply ↓

  27. Good day! This post could not be written any better!

    Reading through this post reminds me of my old room mate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him.
    Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply ↓

  28. Hi just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the
    pictures aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both
    show the same results.

    Reply ↓

  29. Excellent post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!
    Very useful info specifically the last part :) I care for such info a lot.
    I was looking for this certain information for a very long time.
    Thank you and good luck.

    Reply ↓

  30. Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures on this blog loading?

    I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply to Grady Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *