Egypt was a wholly-owned Roman colony. It was guarded by Roman troops. The grain that it produced was absolutely necessary to provide the “bread” part of “bread and circuses” by which the Roman people were kept satisfied and distracted enough to not riot.
The important thing to note is that the actual production of Egyptian grain was not a state function. The grain was harvested and shipped by private concerns. They sold it to the state at very high prices. Prices were elevated far above actual costs of production so that there would be money, actual cash, to give to Roman Senators.
Though the Roman nation would have benefited by having the Egyptian granaries operated by the state at a vastly lower cost, there would have been no bribes for Senators. So, the Senators continued to ravage their own country so that they could receive their usual bribes.
Today, we see the same process, but with different players. Since grain production has been automated, and is in largely private hands, though under an astonishing degree of governmental control, the big bribes are to be found in energy production. Today, foreign energy producers keep our Senators, Representatives, and Governors bribed so well that we’re paying three and four times more for energy than we should.
All of us inevitably made poorer by the process. That’s of no concern to our political leaders, who, as their bribe-taking progenitors did in Rome, are becoming billionaires.
