Big Government killed the Roman Empire. They inflated their currency to fund government. They created massive amounts of regulations, price controls and bureaucrats. That destroyed the yeoman farmer basis of Roman Citizens. Rome was left with no one left to fill our their legions. They ended up with a Ruling Class and a Mob Mass. In political science, this is called Ceasarism, where a "Strong Man" rises to run the show for the vast mob of plebians.
I just read today, the US Middle Class is poorer than in 1989. That's 25 years of decline. That's 25 years of Republican and Democrat Party control.