Was Rome better off as an 'empire' than as a republic?

When Rome was a republic they were run by the people and the people had more of a say in what happened in the government. This republic did bring on a lot of problems though. The Patricians would have more power than the Plebeians which caused a lot of trouble and made the Plebeians mad. Then the Republic started to fall and Rome started to become and empire. I think Rome was better of as an empire because it put most of the power in one person's hands and if that person was good with their power they would be able to run Rome better. Julius Caesar was one of the emperors and while they kept having emperors Rome kept prospering and expanding for years. The bad thing about Rome being an empire was sometimes the emperor was not good or the people would not always agree with their decision but I think that Rome ran better when one person was in power then when everyone had power.

sources:

"Roman Empire -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_empire

"Roman Republic to the Roman Empire." HyperHistory.net. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/cot/t2w4rometoempire.htm