At 03:34 PM 8/1/01 +0200 Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM wrote:
>I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. His name is Hans, he's 70 years old,
>and he was a candle-maker in Candleville, Candle Country.
In other words, he's probably already planning on retirement soon. No
worries. ;-)
>One day a man in a
>big Mercedes came,
Jeroen, this reflects a distrubting prejudice against drivers of Mercedes.
You never mentioned that this man has made a small fortune by providing
cheap lighting to the citizens of nearby Crackerton, Montgomery County.
He also used a sizable portion of his profits to sponsor a wilderness
purchase by the Nature Conservancy.
>and build a lightbulb factory in Candleville.
Bad example. It should be, he sets this factory up in a nearby country,
and seeks to trade the residents of Candleville light bulbs, in exchange
for Candleville's high quality rope products.
>This caused
>a major crash in the candle market, and sent Hans into unemployment. He now
>has to live of a meagre state pension (which is significantly below his
>previous income). The only trade he ever learned was candle-making, and now
>he's too old to learn new skills, and nobody needs a candle-maker anymore.
Hans, of course, recognizes that after 55 years of candle-making, he has a
deep love and appreciation for candles. He opens up a business selling
specialized scented candles to light-bulb owners.
>Hans doesn't see how he benefits from losing his job. Can you explain to him
>that he's better off now that his job and a good part of his income have
>vanished?
This is too easy.
Hans only has his job, because 200 years ago, the government of Candleville
did not choose to prohibit Crackerton's new-fangled candle-factory from
freely trading with Candleville, and sending Candleville's noted
torch-making business, out-of-business. Eventually, a Candleville
entrepreneur opened their own factory, and was so-successful that not only
did they rename the town, they renamed the County in its honor.
But more importantly, Jeroen, let me ask what you would do if you were the
all-powerful mayor of Candle County? Would you impose tariffs on light
bulbs so that candles could compete? Or would you let as many light bulb
imports in as your residents were willing to buy?
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
