Paradoxically, one of the reasons for Rome’s demise was that it kept winning wars. Victories expanded the empire’s territory, and the risks increased proportionally. Men, primarily middle-class men, volunteered as soldiers; the larger the territory, the longer the wars lasted, and the longer it took for them to return home. The women who remained at home were forced to borrow labor and became indebted to the nobility. Eventually, the women were sold into slavery, and by the time the men returned, their families had disintegrated. People don’t betray because they’re evil, but because it increases their risk. If the territory you’re in grows, you might reconsider your loyalties to the organization. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
There are two types of businesses in this world when approached through the value of time and divided by the kinds of business: a business that requires discounting future value and a business that needs a surcharge. The bundle discount is a “future value discount business,” while the loan business is a “future value premium business.” Currently, it is unnecessary, but a bundle of sales is a business that offers customers incentives called “discounts” when they buy what they want in advance. The principal is not returned now in the loan business but must be returned in the future, providing the present incentive as a “delay repayment” in advance. Future discounts and surcharges can exist simultaneously in a business or a product; some enterprises will be ruined by mixing them if they change positions. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”