Decline of Great Civilizations

People wonder why great civilations like Greece decline. Greece, where even those who ARE assessed taxes don't pay them.

Which modern-day countries have robust economies and relatively properous populations? Those that assess and collect tax revenue to fund services for their people.

Think Germany, which is almost single-handledly, propping up the Euro, and Scandanavian countries, where education through college and health care is government funded and their people have the highest rated standard of living and are rated to be the most satisfied. Those countries have surged ahead of the U.S. -- or rather -- the U.S. has fallen behind them in almost every standard-of-living measure, such as longevity, infant mortality, education, health, and medical care.

And in this country, which touts a democracy in which the majority rules, a vicious, short-sighted, ego-centric minority has hijacked the government and held it hostage in the name of defunding so much of what contributes to a decent standard of living for so many.

One of Wisconsin's U.S. senators, Ron Johnson, apparently doesn't agree. He carps that "The federal government is spending 25% of our entire economy vs. 100 years ago when we spent only 2%." (More about Mr. Johnson in a future blog post.)

A hundred years ago when, according to a political fact-checking service, the government did little more than deliver the mail?

So we should turn back the clock to the day when the government did nothing to protect its people from disease, contaminated water/air/food, free-flowing sewage, ignorance and so much else that contributes to being a superpower? Isn't that unbelievably callous and hypocritical from a self-professed Christian multimillionaire (isn't that an oxymoron, according to what Jesus said?) who can easily pay for anything he wants/needs, thanks to government pay, benefits, subsidies and tax laws that favor the rich and corporations? (Mr. Johnson is CEO of a plastics company owned by a family he married into.)

Wouldn't someone who claims to be conservative want to conserve not only his country's high standard of living, but the health, safety and well-being of the majority of its people and, thus, the strength, power and first-rate standing of his/her country?