Things never change. From Aristophanes (446-386 B.C.), Athenian comic playwright, Plutus (408 B.C.):
Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.
