“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.
– Cicero, 55 BC
Can anyone confirm/refute this news:
– “President Obama tried at the recent G8 plus 5 meeting in Italy to borrow more money than George Bush junior did in 8 years. He was told a resounding no.”
– “Bob Chapman [Internationalforecaster.com] revealed that the US State Dept has advised embassies worldwide to stock up on a year’s worth of the local currency in anticipation of collapse of the US dollar. Look for a temporary banking shutdown timed for around September 2009.”
Virtues, like civic responsibility, used to be instilled in the populace by the media and school systems.My father had them. Today the family unit is under great stress. Our social fabric is wearing down and showing signs of tearing. Is it such radical notion to expect a common sense consensus that the government reflect our shared values of living within our means.
Yet …”In a time of universal deceit ,telling the truth is considered a radical act” I think strong faith will be the answer to these times. It will instill courage and patience to deal with this era. It reminds me of the saying “the more things change the more they remain the same”
Here’s an interesting quote…
“An internally held public debt can never be a burden because we owe it to ourselves.”
Lawrence R. Klein as written in the The Keynesian Revolution {pg. 33 Cantelon}
Amen Cicero!
Dick Cheney once observed that “deficits don’t matter”. Then proceeded to bomb Iraq.
I believe it was Jeb Bush who was attributed with saying “there is no political constituency for financial responsibility.”
Sounds familiar. If it’s anything like today he sat down then everybody did more of what they were doing. Rome’s hayday years, until like we have today, they’ve stopped even talking about those things.