Did the Romans know that Rome was falling?

In the last 2 weeks, we've seen some incredible things in the country, but nothing worthwhile in Congress. But that just continues the trend that has been going on for the last several years.

In the last 2 weeks-
-- When the President went to Congress to get authorization to attack Syria, GOP Congressmen asked the Secretary of State why the people in Benghazi wasn't saved. That happened over 14 months ago, and the report has been out for over 6 months.
-- When 13 people were killed on a Navy base, the NRA asked why it took 7 minutes for the police to show up. They didn't say that gun laws needed to be looked at. And Congress in its budget has slashed the budget for police and firemen the last 2 years, and has slashed even more money in its budget for next year.
-- 33 people were killed by guns in Chicago one night. Not one word from Congress.
-- 10 stores in Maryland were found to misuse the food stamp program. So what did Congress do? They slashed 5% of the food stamp program, so that more poor people would starve.
-- Rain has made parts of Colorado a torrent of killing creeks. Dozens were killed, and thousands were displaced. Now, 2 Colorado congressmen did ask for federal help, but these were 2 of the many people who said that no money should to help those affected by Super-storm Sandy, although millions were affected and left homeless for months.
-- The deficit continues to drop at record rates. The GOP answer: Let's shut down the government if the Affordable Care Act isn't defunded. And if it is, more money needs to be slashed from the federal budget.

But that is just the latest moves by the worst Congress ever.
-- Our roads and bridges are crumbling, but the GOP refuses to pass a transportation bill.
-- Our schools, once the way out of poverty for millions of Americans, now are priced out of reach for all but the richest in the country. And even basic schooling is under fire from religious groups that want sciences like evolution taken out, while other groups want global warming struck from the curriculum.
-- Our trains, once the best in the world, now go the same speed that they did 60 years ago. Our fastest trains, which only run in a small northeast corridor, run 2/3 the speed of bullet trains in Europe and Asia.


I look at all that has happened, and how little Congress will do to help re-build the country after the 2nd worst monetary crisis in the country's history, and I have to ask: Did the Romans know how weak Rome was long before Rome felt? If so, I think they must have felt like many Americans do today.