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 B.C.
Much to be lauded in Cicero's ideas, though foreign aid is actually less than one percent of the federal budget in the U.S. I'd hate to think we should close down even that minuscule amount of outreach and support. Maybe in ancient Rome that was a legitimate complaint. Not sure it is for us.
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