[107662] in Cypherpunks
RE: Gallup says go back to sleep
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (xasper8d@lobo.net)
Wed Jan 20 16:27:31 1999
From: "X" <xasper8d@lobo.net>
To: "Jim Burnes - Denver" <jim.burnes@ssds.com>, <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 14:11:54 -0700
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.3.91.990119090057.27737C-100000@denver>
Reply-To: "X" <xasper8d@lobo.net>
~> -----Original Message-----
~> From: owner-cypherpunks@minder.net
~> [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@minder.net]On Behalf Of Jim Burnes - Denver
~> WASHINGTON - President Clinton, backed by record-high job approval
There's an interesting old Chinese story about a young man who convinces the
emperor to let him run a precinct. The emperor gives him a three year trial
because the young man is from an important family.
The young man wants to make a good impression, so he immediately begins
enforcing laws that were lax before, puts the idle to work cleaning up the
city and building new infrastructure, raises taxes to support and train an
army to defend the city, busts up the black-market rings and criminal rings,
puts an aggressive push to educate the young by forcing them to attend
lessons, and generally doing what he thought was right.
After three years, the Emperor came to visit and asked the townspeople to
comment on their leader, the young man. Everyone had some complaint or
another. The idlers were tired of the work, the profiteers were mad that
their markets were closed, the taxpayers were mad because their taxes were
up. The emperor was sad that the townspeople were so unhappy with the young
man as a leader.
When the young man met with the emperor, the emperor told him that the trial
was a failure. The young man fell to the floor and begged the emperor to
give him another three year trial. The Emperor, remembering the clout that
this young man's family held, capitulated.
For the next three years the young man did nothing. He squandered the
treasury on lavish parties and turned his back on the blossoming black
market. he lowered taxes and let the idle hands rest. After three years,
he was not only back where he had started, but a good bit worse.
Then the emperor came to town. As he interviewed the townsfolk, he was
pleased to hear that most of them were very happy with the way things were
run. They felt prosperous, taxes were lower, and the government was not
interfering in their lives. What more could they want?
This pleased the emperor, that the townsfolk were happy. He summoned the
young man and announced that he would be given the township to rule over for
the rest of his life. The Young man told the emperor that sadly, he could
not accept the position under these pretenses. He then told the emperor
that three years ago when the townspeople were not happy, he had been doing
his best. Now, when the townspeople were happy, he had been doing a
horrible job. He did not feel that he should be rewarded for doing that,
and felt that he should have been given the town after the first three
years, when he was doing the tough, but right thing.
The emperor was impressed with the young man's wisdom, (this is a Chinese
story, of course) and made the young man into an advisor to the emperor
himself.
Now, Americans, The Gallup Organization wants to know, "Are you happy?"
X
