The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> the tax-payers lament

the tax-payers lament

Posted by pancho (Moderator) - Saturday, July 16 2011, 17:17:19 (UTC)
from *** - ***

Network -

Windows XP -

Mozilla
Website:
Website title:

...in a village once there was a wealthy lord who owned the factory where the villagers worked....came a time when the villagers had bought everything they could or needed from the Lord's factory, where they worked. Sales dropped off and in order maintain his lavish lifestyle the Lord cut back on the villagers' wages...that helped for a time but then the Lord needed a new roof to his castle and not wanting to dip into his own pocket he picked the pocket of his workers instead by getting rid of their health insurance and then their pensions, overtime pay and vacation....this was enough for a few years but then the Lord wanted more horses for his stables so he laid off half the working villagers, which was okay because long since the workers barely had enough money to live and feed their children with so sales had been dropping off anyway.

The villagers called for "new technology" which would bring "new jobs" but the Lord didn't want to spend his money on new technology and he didn't need a new job, he liked the one he had too much.

Next the Lord decided to divorce and marry again and this cost money so he had his court jester speak to the villagers, telling them the taxes they'd been paying to the King were too much and the King spent too much on roads and schools and there was great waste in the land, which was bad for the moral fiber of the villagers. The villagers who still had jobs but who'd seen their wages buy less and less agreed that too much money was being taken from their dwindling paychecks for taxes so they championed the Lord and came to revere the court jester who promised they would be freer when they had more money and paid less in taxes.

Next the Lord wanted a new swimming pool for his new bride and the only place he could get the money, without reaching into his own private vault, was from the remaining workers who, although at starvation wages were still paying some taxes part of which went to keep a clinic open where their children could receive some care from a doctor.

The court jester was called on again and he told the people that "in these hard economic times was no time to be saddled with a big, wasteful government which was taking money from their paychecks", that, "you know best how to spend your own money", and that "spending your own money was a sign of freedom and democracy".

At the same time the villagers had decided that they wanted a swimming pool too, for their children to use and they'd petitioned the Lord for permission to build it with a portion of their tax-money...."Let us pool our resources together and we will have enough for a pool we can all use"...but the Lord needed that same amount to build one for his family....so the court jester was sent again to tell them that "in these hard economic times was no time for frivolous waste", and they all had to "hunker down" and work for better days and they didn't want "European-style socialism". The jester promised $1000 more a year in tax cuts for each family and in their joy they forgot about the pool and their children too and voted to reduce their taxes so they could be free.

The Lord had his money and soon had his pool. The villagers now learned that none of them could buy their own swimming pool for $1000.00 and so their children sweltered through the summers while the Lord and his family stayed wet and cool...and the Lord, who built his pool with what was left of their tax-dollars and also saved a bundle on the taxes he paid the King, had managed to keep all his money and got more of theirs besides. The next year the clinic was shut down because it was too expensive to maintain on what taxes were left.

And the Lord lived happily ever after and the people dreamed of one day becoming Lords...."Boy, to live like a Lord", they all whispered in their sleep.

---------------------

- BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic:
No replies.

***