Allen, thats very good. It would be good I think if you could have
that put in a newspaper.--- In [email protected], "Allen"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hi,
> Here is a story I wrote about the evils of taxes and how a "good"
tax
> can rip up a community. I hope you like it. If you want to pass it
> around this is fine just do not change the story and keep the by
> line. Thanks.
>
> The River, The Baker and The Dam.
> by
> Allen Yoakum
>
> 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 was a major part of the food 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. "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 forty-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.
>
> The End.
>
