Before reading, please take a quick moment to sign up for my podcast. You can download the clip and sign up here below.
Â
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared on CNBC Thursday afternoon to push for more stimulus spending saying that, “a big package” is necessary to help the economy recover and that, “the price of doing too little is much higher than the price of doing something big.”
Apparently, the Treasury Secretary is not familiar with the Fall of the Roman Empire (or, she is, but is deliberately choosing to ignore.) It was Rome’s debt crisis that led the fall of the Roman Republic and it’s not inconceivable that the history could repeat itself in modern day America.
Biden Administration Tries to Make Its Case
The reality is: $1.9 Trillion is a lot of money. Especially on the heels of the multiple trillions already spent. But, the Biden administration has its script and it’s sticking to it. “Give me more!” is the mandate.
Kamala Harris went on the Today Show Wednesday to plead for stimulus to open the schools (interestingly, of the $128 billion being demanded for education, only $6 billion is allocated for the opening of schools in 2021 – the rest is spread out over the next seven years.)
And, President Joe Biden keeps talking his “book” — by highlighting every negative in the economy in an effort to create more pressure for stimulus spending. Though the economy added jobs last month, Biden tells us, “at this rate it will take ten years to return to full unemployment.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is signaling its willingness to continue printing money with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell telling the Economic Club of New York last week that although he is seeing some signs of inflation, it’s just a “transient thing that we think will pass.”
I wouldn’t count on that.
Debt & Inflation Caused Roman Empire to Implode
Again, I return to the biggest causes of the fall of Rome: massive debt, rampant inflation, over-taxation, too many freebies, feudalism, and an enormous trade deficit with Iran (rather like China today.)
Consider the similiaries: We have massive debt, high taxation, too many freebies, major trade deficits, a kind of feudalism (a system that benefits the wealthiest Americans seemingly at the expense of the middle class) and we are soon to be looking at rampant inflation. How could we not? Last year alone, in 2020, we raised the money supply 24% — the biggest surge in the 150 years that we’ve been tracking our currency.
All this spending has consequences. Sadly, our politicians are too selfish to recognize any long-term economic issues. It’s always about the next election and they’ll spend as much money as it takes to get ahead in the polls. But, as Mark Twain said,
“history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Let’s not let the United States of America go the way of the Roman Empire.
