The Romans Hated Taxes Too

Pundits like to kick around the discussion comparingAmerica to the Roman Republic.  That’s a hard sell for me, but the life and times of Emperor Diocletian bear some eerie resemblances the 2009 White House.

Unpopular border wars, economic recession, and inflation all plagued Rome into the 2nd century.  The Roman Peace had ended and the mighty empire seemed doomed.

Onto the scene rushed Diocletian, a strong willed autocratic promoting drastic change.  He was the first emperor in decades to assume the title of “lord” and publicly be called “god.”  The guy had some kind of messiah complex, but the people obliged since he was in charge.

Diocletian totally reorganized the principate, the government founded by Caesar Augustus.  After that, he reeled in the military, in part to eliminate potential threats to the purple, his power. 

The most striking resemblances though come from his attempts at economic reform in the face of national problems we are all too familiar with.

His first move froze prices and wages as the government gripped down on the economic spirit of Rome.  Black markets flourished as merchants removed their goods from the open market. 

Diocletian also raised taxes and reformed  the entire system.  His system rearranged the issues but never actually solved real problems.  His power increased a great deal however.

Finally, he planned out the most important jobs in society and started appointing regular people to certain occupations.  He froze people in these jobs and made them hereditary.  People resented this control, their ambition useless and squelched.

According to The West In The World (Vol. 1) by Sherman & Salisbury:

“His decrees had a serious unintended consequence: They weakened the willingness of well-off locals to contribute to the public works and games that had so defined imperial life.  Instead, great estates became more self-contained, pulling away from the central authority and maintaining their own mercenary armies.  People increasingly complained about the tax collectors and the central government that seemed to ask more and more of its citizens while providing less and less.”

These events unfolded in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.  Seems like people have always resented tightening government controls.

Even centuries ago, power-grabbing politicians tried to over tax and over burden citizens, especially those who were doing well for themselves. 

The Founding Fathers knew the history of Rome and Diocletian well.  They used that history as a basis for how to make a great, new country.  The lessons included the best ideas of all-time as well as an awareness of what does not work.  We would be wise to learn the same lessons.