Aqueducts were financed from the spoils of various wars and the heavy tribute charged to conquered countries. Rome used the valuable possessions and resources with monetary value from the conquered territories. The economy was based on the spoils of war so that when the chronic state of wars ended and/or the conquered had no resources, the emperor took over the responsibility of public works, obscuring the problem of paying for the construction of the aqueducts. The emperors paid for the large projects by taxing the citizens rather than making the water supply systems profitable. Augustus started the practice of charitable gifts from the private citizens which led to absorption of private capital into public projects without hope of financial returns. None of the investments in any of the aqueducts were ever paid back, only consuming capital with no returns (Tradieu, 1986). The aqueducts were very expensive to build and maintain. In the beginning the government had the money, but as time went on the aqueducts required more money, more maintenance, and more bureaucracy. Eventually the government could no longer afford them and had to rely on taxes. The government’s early approach did not consider what the later sacrifices would be for the future generations, no longer having the monies from conquered states to pay for the water systems. The Roman government paid extensively for its good intentions, which turned out to be very unsustainable. Sounds somewhat like our modern day adventures such as senseless wars and extravagant lifestyles, are having on our modern day events around the World.
World History
