It is what caused the demise of several Chinese dynasties. Too big government just consumed itself with personal avarice and mistrust.
.....there is evidence of exactly what you speak of and it is happening NOW and more and more each day. One small example: A relative of mine is involved in some litigation in San Bernardino, California. San Bernardino, one of many homes around the U.S. for starkly over-paid public employees, cannot pay it’s bills and is either in bankruptcy or headed there.
Anyway, they have reportedly had to shut down a sizeable percentage of their civil courts due to no money leaving the remaining courts grossly over-worked and under staffed. In our case, this means you get a very short time in front of a judge at hearings and proceedings and follow on hearings are set months down the road.
In breaks (lunch), courtroom employees were asking us dead serious questions about housing costs and living costs in Texas with one stating she was moving as soon as she could.
Another observation I made was that on a Sunday afternoon, Palm Springs/Desert Springs Streets were just deserted. You could hardly see one vehicle of any kind up and down six lane avenues. Hmmm???? Meanwhile, back home, we have traffic jams and construction projects on every corner.