No offense to you guys, but the "Decline and fall of the Roman Empire" comparisons, not solely by you but by so many (too many) pundits, have been around so long that they are now cliche. Even Lou Reed lampooned it 35 years ago in his song "Romeo Had Juliette":

-I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag
With Latin written on it that says
"It's hard to give a shit these days"

Manhattan's sinking like a rock
Into the filthy Hudson what a shock
They wrote a book about it
They said it was like ancient Rome-