By: Martin A. ArmstrongFormer Chairman of Princeton Economics International, Ltd. Copyright April 11
th
, 2011
all rights reserved
en Franklin
once said that
“Nothing iscertain except death and taxes.”
Thereis no question that
Ben Franklin
is oneof the top 100 men in history whom Iadmire the most. He was put on trial atthe
Privy Council
in England and thevenom of the prosecutor left such abad taste in his mouth,
Ben
, who had supportedthe King, now supported revolution.
Ben
gotthat firsthand look into the eyes of tyrannywhere corruption abuses power. But
Ben
didnot understand the historical ravages of inflation and what happens when you reach theother side.
Ben
was not the historian. That rolewas filled by
Thomas Jefferson
who gathered allthe knowledge he could find in Europe and sentevery book back in a trunk to America to aid inthe drafting of the Constitution.
Ben
was thescientist. He was renowned in Europe for hisinvention of the Lightening Rod that protectedbuildings. The other side of inflation he did notstudy.If
Ben
had been that historian, he would haverealized that his statement was not entirelycomplete. Yes, death is certain as is
government’s desire to exploit its people with
taxes. But this certainty also leads to taxreforms, revolutions, or civil unrest. Then youreach the . That iswhere tyran
ny takes on a whole new meaning.It is normal for history to be generally ignored.This has been so because mankind is justarrogant, and mostcertainly stupid enough tobelieve that somehow we are moresophisticated today than our ancestors everwere centuries ago, so history offers nothing.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli(1469
–
1527)
It was
Machiavelli
who had the insightful talentto see why history repeats. He summed up theproblem better than anyone else. He saidhistory repeats
because man’s
neverchange with time. So the g
reed for poweralways unfolds with the same result. Those whoseize power directly or indirectly, refuse to seethe consequences of their self-interests.
B
Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138AD) Bronze Sesteriusshowing the Burning of Tax Records--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Roman Emperor
Hadrian
was a remarkablyeffective as a statesman, but some argued hewas also a distastefully inconstant man in hisprivate life at the time. Edward Gibbon in his
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
,lamented of this Golden Age of Rome, thatthere had not been a stronger will to return tothe Republican form of government:
"The ideal restraints of the senate and the laws might serve to display the virtues, but could never correct the vices, of the emperor."
There was atradeoff between the corruptions of theOligarchy under a Republic as we have todaywhere special interests control the government.A Republic is NOT a Democracy where thepeople truly control the state. We haveprofessional politicians who are in office as longas Qaddafi. That
’
s no DEMOCRACY!It is true that the pleasure of an emperor variedgreatly based upon his character, and thedynastic-hereditary process to the throne wasoften chaotic. Yet today, there are Marxist goalsthat dominate the Democrats and the rightwing religious agenda that dominates theRepublicans that see Constitutional rights as evilLIBERAL doctrine. But when the mind of theemperor was not demented and honor blendedwith power, there were brief and shiningmoments of greatness in Imperial Rome. Undera Republic, there was only corruptiondominated by the Oligarchy.
, was indeed an interesting statesman.There were economic booms and busts thatresulted in numerous tax reforms, debtf orgiveness by the state, and legal reforms.Even in times of peace, there were stilleconomic cycles.
Historia Augusta,
tells us thatduring
Hadrian’s
reign
“there were famines,
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Other Side of Inflation Martin Armstrong 04-13-2011
Wonderfully Written...
1.6K
Reads
2
Readcasts
60
Embed Views
More From This User
Notes
Load more
