KFLCC Kingdom Economics

Money and the Rise and Fall of Empires

working Roman citizens from quitting their jobs, as tax money was needed to provide income for the needs of the government. Consider America in light of history. The cry of both Rome and America was (and is), tax the rich in order to pay for the runaway spending of the government. In 2012, the co-founder of a social networking site that went public gave up his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore—which does not tax capital gains—so that he would not owe taxes on any future appreciation of the company. In 2009, five hundred wealthy people gave up their U.S. citizenship; and by the end of 2011, nearly eighteen hundred had given up their citizenship to avoid paying capital gains and other higher taxes. In Rome, citizens eventually gave up their farms in frustration, moving to new areas to start over again. The “tax the rich” scheme became the final straw that broke Rome’s back. The senatorial class of citizens in Rome—that is, the politicians, nobles, and their families—eventually were charged with a high tax burden, which is believed to have led to financial struggles and the inability to recover economically. Ancient history from Greece and Rome reveals that in early and latter times, economic decisions made by the government leaders caused individuals to lose their incentives to pursue personal profits and create personal success and wealth. These individuals tired of carrying the weight and burden of oppressive taxes and government regulations placed upon them. The stagnation caused inflation, and the inflation led to debt and the weakening of creativity of the productive class as they lost their desire to work and give most of what they earned to the government. In summary, the fall of Rome caused the middle class to disappear, and by the 2nd century AD, many Roman-controlled cities had spent so much borrowed money that they were facing debt they could not repay. The cost of repairing the infrastructure, paying the armies, and supporting the government employees had become too great, and the income was unavailable to provide for the needs. The end result was that the people lost their land as the government bought the farms and the political leaders became rich. At times there were also limits on the food supply, so restrictions were placed on food. Toward the end of the western empire of Rome, the foreign tribes invaded and took over Italy. In America, many have lost their homes and land, they can’t afford to meet their monthly financial obligations, and foreign nations and their corporations have been buying America’s foreclosed homes, businesses, factories, commercial

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