Signs Of A Dying Empire

Here are More Signs That the US Empire is in Decay…

Chris MacIntosh

One of the problems with the Roman empire was that as the degradation of society accelerated the loyalty amongst its soldiers decreased. It decreased to such an extent that the pointy shoes (emperor and other foie gras eaters — or the equivalent in those days) had to resort to importing foreigners to wage their wars for them. Fast forward to today and we hear the American Senator Tammy Duckworth doing the same.

Here’s the problem…

The gap between recruitment goals and enlistment numbers has been steadily widening in recent years. Current statistics suggest that a mere 24%-27% of young people, ages 18-24, qualify for service, with even fewer expressing the desire to serve.

Perhaps these folks simply don’t wish to join the meat grinder in order to “bring democracy” to people far far away in a country they couldn’t find on a map.

They say history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes. Here’s a rhyme for you then.

With the collapse of the Roman empire the Roman government began to hire foreign mercenaries around the third century because they needed to fortify their borders. The government made contracts called “foedera” with those they considered “frontier barbarians” who were living beyond their borders and were not under their imperial control. These mercenary groups essentially functioned as a sort of buffer between the Romans and other groups living along and beyond the frontier. This was often a temporary measure, meaning that they were recruited when the need arose, usually for immediate purposes. Kinda like those poor Ukranians who have been used as cannon fodder. These particular soldiers always remained somewhat on the outside: they served under their own leaders and beyond the borders of the empire. However, they occasionally received Roman honors and ranks.

Which reminded me of this…

Not bad for a previously entirely irrelevant tranny. Speaking of the little man and the entire media debacle unfolding, he appeared on an interview with MSNBC high as a kite and entirely unable to string a sentence together properly. 

Either way, this is not the sort of thing one sees in a rising empire. This is what one sees in the collapse of an empire.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Americas, Argentina sees the first monthly budget surplus in 12 years. According to an article published by Barron’s:

The Argentine government in January saw its first monthly budget surplus in nearly 12 years, as new President Javier Milei continues to push for strong spending cuts, the Economy Ministry announced.

January was the first full month in office for Milei, a far-right libertarian who took office in December, and it ended with a positive balance for public-sector finances of $589 million at the official exchange rate, the government said late Friday.

In other words, what the predominantly leftist pointy shoes before him couldn’t do (or were unwilling to do?) in 12 years, Milei was able to do in one month.

Speaking of turnarounds, if you have 12 minutes watch this clip of El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele being interviewed by the BBC just before he won re-election in a landslide. Unsurprisingly, given a 92% approval rating, though it does make one wonder what’s wrong with 8%. Mothers of gang members, I suspect.

More...

Illegal Immigrants Leave US Hospitals With Billions In Unpaid Bills

The Epoch Times

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are flooding into U.S. hospitals for treatment and leaving billions in uncompensated health care costs in their wake.

The House Committee on Homeland Security recently released a report illustrating that from the estimated $451 billion in annual costs stemming from the U.S. border crisis, a significant portion is going to health care for illegal immigrants.

With the majority of the illegal immigrant population lacking any kind of medical insurance, hospitals and government welfare programs such as Medicaid are feeling the weight of these unanticipated costs.

Apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the U.S. border have jumped 48 percent since the record in fiscal year 2021 and nearly tripled since fiscal year 2019, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Last year broke a new record high for illegal border crossings, surpassing more than 3.2 million apprehensions.

And with that sea of humanity comes the need for health care and, in most cases, the inability to pay for it.

In January, CEO of Denver Health Donna Lynne told reporters that 8,000 illegal immigrants made roughly 20,000 visits to the city’s health system in 2023.

The total bill for uncompensated care costs last year to the system totaled $140 million, said Dane Roper, public information officer for Denver Health. More than $10 million of it was attributed to “care for new immigrants,” he told The Epoch Times.

Though the amount of debt assigned to illegal immigrants is a fraction of the total, uncompensated care costs in the Denver Health system have risen dramatically over the past few years.

More....