Have the emperor’s methods become unsound?

The thing about this is that even if an 8% a year annual cut for five years in the defense budget (check my math but this looks a 32.4% cut in nominal dollars and of course a lot more than that assuming any kind of inflation) is desirable in the abstract — and I have no expertise at all on that question — such a cut in the concrete world of Trumpland would, we can be certain, be done in the most incompetent and corrupt way imaginable. The graft alone that would accompany this process is almost inconceivable. And that means that the cuts would have essentially no rationale other than what palms were getting greased in the process.

Hey, time for a little Roman history:

On 24 January 41,^[223] the day before his due departure for Alexandria, Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian tribunes Cassius Chaerea and Cornelius Sabinus, and a number of centurions. Josephus names many of Caligula’s inner circle as conspirators, and Dio seems to have had access to a senatorial version which purported to name many others. More likely, very few conspirators would have been involved, and not all need have been directly in touch with each other. The fewer who knew, the greater the chance of success. Previous attempts had foundered or faded out when faced with the rewards and risks of betrayal by colleagues, whether through torture, fear of torture or promised reward. The Senate was a disunited body of self-interested, wealthy and mistrustful aristocrats, unwilling to risk their own prospects, and determined to present a virtuous, united front.^[224][225] In Josephus’ account of Caligula’s assassination, Chaerea was a “noble idealist”, deeply committed to “Republican liberties”; he was also motivated by resentment of Caligula’s routine personal insults and mockery.^[226][227] Suetonius and all other sources confirm that Caligula had insulted Chaerea, giving him watchwords like the ribald “Priapus” or “Venus“, the latter said to refer to Chaerea’s weak, high voice, and either his soft-hearted attitude when collecting taxes, or his duty to collect the tax on prostitutes. He was also known to do Caligula’s “dirty work” for him, including torture.^{[76][228][229][230][231]}

Chaerea, Sabinus and others accosted Caligula as he addressed an acting troupe of young men beneath the palace during a series of games and dramatics being held for the Divus Augustus.^[232] The source details vary, but all agree that Chaerea was first to stab Caligula.^{[228][232][233]} The narrow space available offered little room for escape or rescue, and by the time Caligula’s loyal Germanic guard could come to his defence, their Emperor was already dead. They killed several of Caligula’s party, including some innocent senators and bystanders. The killing only stopped when the Praetorians took control.

Have another drink, Pete.