BLUF: The article discusses the similarities between Rome’s debt crisis in the early 400s and the current US debt crisis, highlighting the danger of constantly taking things to the brink of disaster without a viable problem-solving strategy.
In the late summer of 408 AD, the Roman Empire was weakened by terrible strategic and financial decisions made by the then rulers. Before long, a barbarian army under Alaric’s command headed towards the city of Rome and encircled it with a leisurely march. After most of the residents starved to death and the city was cut off from resupply, Honorius, despite being a weak emperor, finally agreed to negotiate a deal with Alaric. However, he tried to double-cross the Visigoths by sending troops to ambush them, which infuriated Alaric, and he marched towards Rome for the third time. The sack of Rome in August 410 AD ensued, which could have been avoided if not for Honorius’s incompetence. This crisis resembles the current US debt crisis, with decades of terrible financial decisions leading to an ever-increasing national debt. Every few years, the debt ceiling becomes a major crisis, and the government hastily negotiates a short-term patch and kicks the can down the road, without a viable problem-solving strategy. This approach didn’t work in the early 400s and won’t work today either because eventually, someone is going to go too far.