A Roman tax collector
A Roman tax collector admitted: the poorest citizens weren’t the jobless – they were the ones addicted to buying THIS “cheap” Pleasure called wine, no different today.
1. It wasn’t bread. Grain was subsidized by the state. What drained the pockets of the poor was wine — cheap, watered-down, sold on every corner. A few coins a day didn’t look dangerous, but over years it trapped families in permanent debt.
2. Why wine mattered. Rome’s elite understood: a drunk crowd doesn’t revolt. Taverns were everywhere, because steady intoxication kept citizens obedient. The poorest weren’t weak because of low wages — they were weak because they numbed themselves daily instead of building reserves.
3. The hidden math. One amphora of wine a week equaled the price of land rent. Thousands of men could have saved enough for tools, shops, or apprenticeships. Instead, they drank their future. The same happens now with takeout coffee, cigarettes, or streaming — pennies today, decades lost tomorrow.
4. Two camps of citizens. One defended the habit: “Life is short, I deserve small joys.” The other saved, invested in trade, and climbed out of poverty. Two thousand years later, the division hasn’t changed: one camp buys escape, the other buys freedom.
5. The modern lesson. Poverty isn’t simply lack of income — it’s addiction to cheap relief. Romans knew it, tax collectors counted on it, and corporations still build empires on it. The question is simple: are you buying comfort, or are you buying your way out?
Betty White
Betty White was a guest on Steve Harvey’s show, where she was interviewed about her career and life.
Cecil Rhodes
Cecil Rhodes’s influence did not end with his death. His major legacy was the scholarships to Oxford that bear his name. Except for small personal bequests, the overwhelming bulk of his fortune of approximately six million pounds was left to public service. Part represents the Rhodes scholarships: two students from each state or territory in the United States, three from each of eighteen British colonies, and an additional fifteen from Germany were granted Oxford scholarships. This plan was the final result of that boyish dream outlined in the first will of 1877 to create a society to promote Great Britain’s worldwide position. Additional sums were left to Oriel College, and land was bequeathed to provide for a university in Rhodesia.
Although Rhodes’s hasty actions in 1895 doomed the immediate federation of the two English colonies and two Afrikaner republics, this scheme remained in the forefront of his mind. The restoration of responsible government and the federation of the four states into the Union of South Africa in 1909 represented a posthumous and partial fulfillment of Rhodes’s dreams. Developments in South Africa since 1960 have deviated from his dreams.
Rather than becoming part of a British-dominated Africa, Bechuanaland and the two Rhodesia’s became independent: Northern Rhodesia as Zambia (1964), Bechuanaland as Botswana (1966), and Southern Rhodesia as Zimbabwe (1980). Even Rhodes’s beloved Cape (as a component of the Union of South Africa) declared its status as an independent republic in 1961, thus severing ties with Great Britain.
The most important piece of legislation enacted during Rhodes’s premiership has influenced attitudes toward Africans ever since. This act, the Glen Grey Act of 1894, provided the blueprint for the modern apartheid system adopted by the South African government in 1948. Rhodes believed that the African must be disciplined by work and must be relegated to his own districts where he would be allowed to own property. No matter how much they might prosper, Africans would never gain the Cape franchise and would be allowed to vote only for their local councils. Thus, the native homeland (Bantustan) policy of the South African government also stems from a decision reached by Rhodes.
Jakob Fugger
Jakob Fugger the Rich was arguably the wealthiest person in history, with his fortune, equivalent to about $400 billion today, representing 2% of Europe’s GDP at his death in 1525. A German banker, he built on his family’s success in textiles to dominate the mining, banking, and news industries, wielding immense power over kings and popes and fundamentally shaping the economic and political landscape of the Renaissance.
Mary Anne MacLeod
Mary Anne MacLeod, before becoming the mother of Donald Trump, arrived in the United States in 1930 as a young Scottish immigrant with only $50 to her name. Leaving behind her modest life in Scotland, she boarded a steamship and settled in New York with her sister. There, she worked as a maid, gradually adjusting to life in a new country while making a humble living.
Her life changed when she met Frederick Trump, a businessman who had made his mark in the real estate world. After marrying Frederick, Mary Anne’s circumstances transformed dramatically. She embraced a life of luxury, enjoying everything from fine fur coats to extravagant vacations, embodying the success of the American dream and the rewards of her husband’s business achievements.
Despite her newfound wealth, Mary Anne remained deeply connected to her roots and was dedicated to giving back. She became heavily involved in charitable work, particularly supporting individuals with cerebral palsy and aiding those with intellectual disabilities. Her commitment to philanthropy and helping others continued throughout her life, leaving a legacy that extended far beyond material wealth and reflected her lasting impact on the lives of man
Maurice and Harrold King
Maurice and Harrold King were eccentric millionaire brothers who, despite owning land valued at over \$6 million, chose to live in extreme poverty their entire lives. Born and raised in the early 20th century in rural Texas, the King brothers became known for their reclusive lifestyle and unusual choices. They lived in a dilapidated shack without electricity or running water, refusing to modernize or change their ways, even as their wealth quietly grew through wise real estate investments.
Neither Maurice nor Harrold ever attended school. Instead, they taught themselves everything—from reading and writing to carpentry, farming, and land trading. It was through buying and selling land that they amassed their fortune, carefully managing deals with a quiet intelligence that often went unnoticed by those around them. Locals thought they were odd or even mentally unstable, given their refusal to enjoy the comforts their fortune could easily afford. But the brothers had no interest in luxury—they were content to live simply and independently, by their own rules.
Maurice died in 1995, and Harrold passed away shortly after. When the full extent of their fortune was revealed, many were stunned. They had lived as if they had nothing, but in truth, they had everything just no desire to spend it. Their story remains a testament to how wealth doesn’t always mean extravagance, and how true independence can sometimes look like poverty to the outside world…
Radia Perlman
If you do not happen to be an expert in computer networking algorithms, the headline description of US Patent #7339900 may seem a little mysterious to you: “Method and apparatus for preventing spanning tree loops during traffic overload conditions.” The lay reader might be forgiven for thinking it involves some kind of innovation to help city planners route automobile traffic around fallen trees. But in fact, Patent #7339900—one of more than a hundred held by pioneering network designer Radia Perlman— is a tool for stabilizing information traffic, not automotive. When you connect your local Ethernet network—your computers and smart TVs and game consoles—to the wider Internet, and the information flows reliably between those two networks, that connection is quietly made possible by innovations like those described in Patent #7339900.
We lost control of our country, USA in 1913
The assertion that the U.S. lost control of the country in 1913 is a conspiracy theory, not a historically accepted fact
. It is often tied to the creation of the Federal Reserve and the passage of the 16th and 17th Amendments, which occurred that year.
Context of the 1913 laws
1913 was a pivotal year in the Progressive Era, a period of widespread social and political reform in the U.S… The laws passed that year addressed long-standing issues, but critics argue they had a negative impact on the country.
The Federal Reserve Act
- Establishment: The act created the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, to provide the nation with a more stable and flexible financial system.
- Response to financial panic: It was a direct response to the Panic of 1907, which demonstrated the need for a mechanism to prevent bank runs and stabilize the money supply.
- Conspiracy theory claim: Some critics, however, portray the Federal Reserve as a privately owned banking cartel that took control of the U.S. monetary system. They claim it was created in secret by a powerful group of bankers. Reputable sources debunk claims that the Fed is secretly owned or unconstitutional.
The 16th Amendment
- Federal income tax: This amendment was ratified in February 1913, giving Congress the power to levy a federal income tax.
- Impact: This shifted the government’s primary source of revenue from tariffs toward income tax, providing a new way to fund social programs and expand government influence.
- Criticism: Some argue this fundamentally changed the republic by expanding the power of the federal government.
The 17th Amendment
- Direct election of senators: This amendment, ratified in April 1913, changed the Constitution to allow for the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote instead of by state legislatures.
- Impact: The change was intended to curb corruption and make the Senate more accountable to the public.
- Criticism: Critics, particularly conservatives, argue it eroded the balance of power and diminished states’ authority in the federal system.
Jim Crow era segregation
- Expansion of segregation: Also in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson introduced segregation into federal government agencies, reversing previous progress.
- Exclusionary policies: This led to discriminatory practices that barred many Black Americans and impoverished white Americans from voting.
- Racial discrimination: Critics describe this as a significant step backward for democracy and civil rights in the U.S.
Conspiracy vs. historical interpretation
The “lost control” narrative is based on a specific interpretation of these events, often found in conspiracy theories. Mainstream historians view the 1913 reforms as a complex and controversial turning point that significantly reshaped the relationship between the government and the economy.