>>>The Romans might disagree with that statement. ;)
>
>LOL. The corruption and debauchery of those Romans isn't yet matched in the US, though some are trying their best to excel! But economically the US is streets ahead- e.g. the US$ for now remains the most important reserve currency for the entire solar system. And the Romans never had nukes, aircraft carriers or a Second Amendment. ;-)

Much of embolded was when/after Caesar "modified" the power structure - the senate still existed, but few would call it a republic compared to earlier times.

If I try to scale the deeds to technological capabilities, Rome on is ahead on quite a bit of scales. Compare the reach of their empire in multiples of [ground or naval] army transportation range possible in a day.

Although one could argue that the states currently are somewhere in Sulla/Catalina times, so some of the reach of empire possible in Roman times has not been realized by the US - doubtful if they can unless someone like Musk opens up new territories in the asteroid belt.