Contributed by: Allan Jachem
Once there was a village in a valley were about 100 people lived. Mostly adults with some children. These people were farmers for the most part and they all lived by a river which was only about five feet deep and six feet wide. The river was fed by a medium sized lake to the north far from the village. The river and lake had many fish and the people caught the fish in the river in the warmer parts of the year.
The fish were a major part of the food which they ate along with corn, wheat and chicken. Milk came from goats and fruit from the trees along the banks. All of these things depended on the river which never flooded the people out. Life was good for the villagers.
In the village was a man who made bread for the village. He and his wife would get up early in the morning and crush wheat with two large stones. This man named Dan would roll the stone back and forth over the wheat to make flour. Day in a day out the two made bread and bartered it for services and items they needed. Everyone enjoyed the bread, picking Dan over Bill who also made bread.
Dan had a problem, he only had a few loaves left to barter off each day. The reason was that it took so long to crush the wheat.
Dan wanted to make more and had an idea to make flour by using a paddle wheel on the river and gears which would push a stone wheel around and do the work for him. It worked well and Dan was success. He had enough loaves for every family and they were happy for a while. As a result Dan became wealthy. He had goats, chickens, and other things. Dan's home was large and well built and his clothing suitable. After some time the people became mad that he still made them give him things for the bread.
The people in the village asked him to give up taking things and just give them the bread if they gave him the wheat. The reason Dan was asked to do this act was, "You're rich and some people need the bread." said the people. Dan was understandably upset. He stood firm and would not give up any bread for free. The reaction of the village was to impose a tax on Dan of twenty loaves every day. The bread would go to the poor people of the village. Dan tried to show the tax was wrong. The village just thought he was being greedy and would not listen. The chief came out every afternoon and collected the tax.
This cut into Dan's stock of loaves he could sell by a third. Dan had less to sell so he raised the price and built a bigger paddle wheel which covered half the river. The people got madder and they all voted to raise the tax by thirty loaves a day. Dan, who could make only one-hundred loaves and needed five for his family which had grown to four people, now had only sixty-five to barter so he again raised the price. Yet another tax was imposed, this time up to seventy-five loafs. Dan now had two mills which covered the whole river. He also had to hire two men who were smart and learned to make good bread quickly. This made Bill ,who was a poor baker, mad. Bill forced Dan to hire him using the greed of the people who wanted more bread. They figured if two bakers were working more bread could be made. They took a vote and Bill won, Dan lost. Dan who needed to take care of his family agreed and hired the man.
Soon Dan had to build two more mills due to a raise in the tax to one-hundred and twenty-five loafs. Dan still took barter raising his price giving the tax as his reasoning. Yet another tax to one-hundred and fifty due to other people moving into the village for the free food. Dan was at his wits end. He had no land to build yet another mill and he was making only one-hundred and sixty loafs on a good day thanks to Bill.
Dan needed more power so he came up with the idea of damming the river and pushing the water into a smaller area which would give more torque to turn a larger wheel which would make more flour. So he sold some of his things to build the dam/mill while he had to pay the tax. The people were happy to see Dan losing some of the things he had taken from them and that he might be able to pay the high tax. The village numbered one-hundred and seventy-five.
Dan built the dam knowing what it would do to the river, the land and the village. He begged the village to lower the tax so he could do business and live. The people figured he was lying to get out of helping the needy one-hundred and fifty of the village. Dan was in fact told to build the dam and pay one-hundred and seventy-five loafs a day.
Dan built the dam and since he lived far from where the others dwelt the flooding was ignored or not noticed. Soon the river dried up near the village and the people had no fish. The farmers had no water for the wheat, the goats or the trees along the river banks. No water for drinking and no wine because the vines had died.
The people were as mad as hell, as Dan expected. They had a meeting demanding Dan release the river. Dan said "Fine if they lowered the tax." The people screamed he was lying so he could get rich. Dan had had enough and left taking his family with him and most of his possessions. Baker Bill, who was not to good at baking, took over the mill and Dan's home. He tried to make good on the tax but the best he did was half.
Soon harvest time came and all the plants were dead and most of the animals. No wheat meant no bread but still the people yelled for it. "For the needy!" Bill, the not so good baker, was in trouble so he left as well. With no fish, fruits, wheat or animals to eat, or water to drink within reach people got hungry. The village was in trouble. They screamed it was Dan and Bills fault. They built the dam/mill making the men walk far for fish and water. Taking away the wheat so there would be no bread. "Needy people have needs!" they yelled to the sky. The village was dead by winter.
Nobody thought to take the dam away to give them back the fish, fruits or water for all to drink, animals included, or wheat and corn for eating or making bread. No, taking the mill away would mean no chance of imposing the tax ever again. No tax and the needy starve. Maybe, but the village starved because of the tax. The moral of the story: If you want money to flow and support the people you have to release it by taking away the taxes on it.
You may also like to read -
No comments:
Post a Comment