Could the secret to economic success be reduced to four words? A country that has the "magic formula" - Low Taxes, Stable Money - finds itself going from one success to another. Another country, with every other cultural, institutional and geographic advantage one could name, stumbles and declines once it loses the Magic Formula. With examples ranging from Ancient Rome to Spain in 2012, Nathan Lewis shows how the rise and decline of great states and empires can be traced to whether or not they follow this simple rule. If long-unresolved debt, deficit and entitlement issues reach a crisis stage, in the U.S. and worldwide, we may find that governments reach for higher taxes and "easy money," even outright printing-press finance, as a stopgap solution. The results are predictable. The Magic Formula presents a timeless solution to the problems of today and tomorrow; indeed, history says that it is the only solution that will work.