America's Crumbling EMPIRE -- Will Trump Restore It . . . Or Hasten Its Decline?
- Thread starter What Would Jesus Do?
- Start date
I've thought for years that America is like the Roman Empire towards the end.
I think we will probably collapse in 5-10 years.
I hope I'm wrong.
I think we will probably collapse in 5-10 years.
I hope I'm wrong.
I had a hard time choosing between the last 2 options.
Just because I enjoy making polls doesn't mean I make the options easy or tailor them to my own biases.
Just because I enjoy making polls doesn't mean I make the options easy or tailor them to my own biases.
Depends on your point of view. If you're rich, Trump will make this paradise. If you're everyone else, welcome to indentured servitude.
As we all know, the expanding BRICS consortium of members and partners includes a number of foes as well as a number of nations we've wronged over the years. Many of them would like to unseat the US dollar as the dominant currency. Some would do that slowly and carefully, to avoid world-wide collapse; others would take the win now, if they could.
Many of Trump's policies could - if he actually pursues them - accelerate the demise of our powerful dollar. That, in turn, might bring the American Empire to a technical end on Trump's watch, but I doubt it will be recognized at the time.
Many of Trump's policies could - if he actually pursues them - accelerate the demise of our powerful dollar. That, in turn, might bring the American Empire to a technical end on Trump's watch, but I doubt it will be recognized at the time.
The coalescing of the oligarchs and especially the tech oligarchs is very worrisome. When you consider that Americans have no online privacy protections, and the oligarchy holds essentially all of the media that information moves on, I have a hard time envisioning a change back in a direction more favorable for the average American. I don't believe we are so far away from the end goal of American libertarians which is economic fascism.
More tax cuts will worsen that.
Even if matched by spending cuts, that would mainly just shift the burden to the states. Poorer states will struggle. Some states might consider becoming part of Canada or going their own way.
Sticking to the national debt issue for the moment, I fully expect tax cuts without the necessary spending cuts. And certainly no effort to balance the budget - much less pay down the debt.
SO . . . we'll be taking in lower revenues. And unless Trump plunges us into a major recession or depression - always a possibility - the national debt will continue to rise and interest payments will consume an increasingly higher proportion of the national budget.
Debasement of the denarius is a good way to trace the Roman decline:
Doug Casey: In ancient pre-industrial societies—just like today—you became wealthy by producing more than you consume and saving the difference.
One of the best things about money is that it allows an individual to set aside capital, the product of his labor, in a form that retains value. A farmer, for instance, can’t save fruit from year to year, nor can a baker save bread. Sound money is critical for lasting gains in wealth and economic progress. Sound money is why wealthy societies become dominant, and a reason other societies are poor and ripe for conquest and domination.
Rome provides a meaningful long-term template. The Roman government, in search of revenue, started debasing the denarius under Nero in the 1st century, taking it from 90% silver to 75%. As late as the reign of Marcus Aurelius, which ended in 180, the denarius was still about 75% silver. By the end of the 3rd century, it was pot metal that was simply plated with silver. The 3rd century was notable for numerous coups, civil wars, assassinations, and secessions. There are plenty of reasons political chaos goes hand in hand with economic chaos; they reinforce each other.
Roman coins weren’t worth saving by the middle of the 3rd century, and the collapse of the currency was a major cause of the collapse of the empire. In some ways, sound money was even more important in ancient times than it is today because they didn’t have sophisticated banking, financial markets, credit, accounting, or ways of measuring the rate of currency depreciation. Physical cash was king.
Currency inflation creates chaos, whether in a relatively primitive economy like that of the Romans—where there was still a lot of barter. Once the rulers found they couldn’t depreciate the currency anymore, direct taxes went up substantially, but it became hard to collect them simply because the currency had no value. The soldiers didn’t like being paid with worthless tokens. This is why after the reign of Aurelius, the next century was a time of civil wars and general chaos. There was no new construction of roads or public buildings. Those who were able holed up at their country estates, which were internally self-sustaining. It was the beginning of feudalism, a foreshadowing of the coming Dark Ages. By the accession of Diocletian in 295, Rome had lost all touch with its republican roots and had become an oriental-style despotism.
Only hope of the debt being addressed. Is Chip Roy and others will have leverage to force spending cuts.
Trump and other leaders of both parties clearly don’t care about it.
Not Jesus, Don’t have the abs. But I cared once we started putting both wars on the credit cards. Should have gotten huge tax increases. Part of the reason we stayed so long is the majority of the American population paid no price,
That fiscal policy opened the doors for liberal spenders and supposed conservative spenders to go nuts.
Thanks. The primary problems are on the spending side. We have plenty of revenue. Do whatever it takes to balance the budget and do it now!
A major problem is a lot of the excessive spending has flowed up to the top. Those individuals at the top are going to continue to make sure their personal spending projects don’t get cut off. How much will Elon continue to pump into campaigns to insure EV’s and his Mars colonization mission will continue to be heavily subsidized. Or more subsidizes for oil exploration and production. When currently wells in the US are idle. Because they don’t make a profit to operate.
Thanks to all of the various PACs it’s all pulling teeth or simply impossible. It won’t happen until we have no choice.
