“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 BC
Rome was much better at taking plunder from foreign lands than providing them assistance at the time. It wasn't until much later that they got in the habit of bribing the barbarian tribes on their borders.