Over seven hundred people lived in the Lower Valley, but one stood out. When asked who they looked up to and to whom they would turn in a time of need, the people mentioned his name most often. He was called John Good. He came across as confident and he exhibited a level of calmness that brought comfort to those around him.
The Lower Valley was a fertile valley with rich volcanic soil and a wide, clear river running through it. There was abundant sunshine. The valley produced apples and every kind of berry imaginable, including delicious boysenberries and even huckleberries. There was corn, there were potatoes and beef cattle and cheese. It was a flourishing paradise and the people were happy.
The Upper Valley though was not quite as prosperous. So those in the Upper Valley decided to divert part of the wide river for irrigation purposes thereby hoping to make their part of the valley as prosperous as the Lower Valley.
There was only one village to serve the needs of all the people in both valleys and it was located in the upper part. So the lowlanders had to travel there for their basic supplies and that is how they came to hear of the plans to divert part of the river.
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Based on the disturbing news coming from the Upper Valley, the lowlanders decided that they needed someone to go to the Upper Valley to discuss the matter at hand. A group of citizens went to John Good. Being a modest and deferential man, John recommended someone else - someone that the people affectionately called Big Boss.
Big Boss agreed to undertake the task, but stated in a blunt manner that he would have to be paid because he would lose worktime in his orchard. Since the Lower Valley had no government and therefore no central source of funds, a small tax had to be levied on everyone. So it might be said that the original sin for this flourishing paradise was one man's unwillingness to give of himself for the greater good.
After twenty-one days of meeting with the uplanders Big Boss let it be known that he could not do this alone. Three additional people were picked to help him and, of course, since he was getting paid, they would have to be compensated as well. Another levy on the people.The uplanders did not negotiate in good faith, in fact, they became evermore intransigent.
The lowlanders had to find a way to retaliate. Big Boss and his staff of three proposed the building of a fence to restrict the uplanders from easy access to fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. They would still be allowed to buy these things, but now they would have to pass through a gate and pay a surcharge for being allowed into the Lower Valley.
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Before the fence could be built though Big Boss appointed a Border Committee which would decideoB the specifics of the construction. The members of the Committee were to be paid as well. Then a construction crew had to be hired. More taxes! After the fence was completed there was general support for the hiring of armed guards to patrol the fence and, of course, guns had to be bought. Additional "revenue enhancers" were needed for the weapons and to pay the border guards.
Overtime the Border Committee was not only not disbanded, but it morphed into a General Committee which ultimately transitioned to a larger Representative Assembly whose members needed to be compensated for their service.
The discussions between the Lower and Upper Valley went on for a while longer and then the dispute was settled so that for the most part everyone was well pleased. But the fence remained and so did the border guards.
But what about Big Boss? What would happen to him? The people were convinced that new issues would arise in the future and so they voted to keep him in his position for a few more years and, of course, in order to keep him they agreed to increase his compensation.
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So Big Boss felt pressure to appear active and to come up with new ideas. After careful deliberation with certain members of the community, it was decided that a proposal would be offered mandating that 33% of the roosters in the Lower Valley would be castrated.
Big Boss asked the Representative Assembly to consider enacting the measure into law. They did. And because members of the Assembly had to demonstrate to the people that they were busy they engaged In lengthy and heated debates before passing the measure into law. Both the Assembly and Big Boss were well pleased for they had "accomplished" something and they were now quite anxious to "accomplish" much more.
But one person was not pleased. A man by the name of Homus, one of the main chicken breeders in the Lower Valley, challenged the law for he deemed it to be unfair to him and his fellow chicken breeders to suffer such a reduction in viable roosters. The breeders could not appeal to Big Boss because he had come up with the idea, nor could they appeal to the Representative Assembly because they were the ones who had made it the law of the land.
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Someone suggested that three outsiders be picked to decide whether or not the Castration Law was fair. These three would be called judges and, of course, they would have to be compensated. Given that the Castration Law was the first one ever passed in the land, the judges upheld it, for who were they to challenge the wisdom of Big Boss and the Intelligence of that august body known as the Representative Assembly.
Not only was Homus not well pleased, he was, in fact, confused. How did it come to be that his money (through levies) was helping to pay those in authority who were now telling him what to do?
Yet the people decided - just as they had in the case of Big Boss and the Assembly - that since other issues were sure to arise in the future, the need forjudges would be permanent and, of course, they were right, the laws kept coming and there were always challenges.
With increasing revenue coming in It was just a matter of time before a Tax Commissioner was required who needed a staff to collect and record the taxes. Without question the tax levy would have to be increased once again, for those collecting the taxes had to be paid as well.
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And it came to pass that the powers on high decided that the workers In the groves were being exploited and that consequently they were quite unhappy. John Good, who knew the people well, took issue with that. He observed the people - especially on Sundays — families along the banks of the clean river eating their meals, children playing and laughing, guitar music in the background and everyone frolicking in verdant nature. Eternity was flowing by, yet those gathered there were in the moment, enjoying the now. Free wind graced their cheeks. To an outside observer it seemed like paradise.
It is true, the work was at times hard, but it was honest and healthy work. Nevertheless, the powers on high who felt themselves endowed with infinite wisdom determined that the laborers were unhappy so they appointed a Labor Commissioner who, of course, had to hire people to help him monitor and document the miserable conditions in the Lower Valley. They all needed to be paid because documenting misery is a lengthy and arduous task.
The lawmakers were well pleased with their efforts so far. What issue could they pick next - something that would have widespread support? The health of the people was just such an issue. It was determined that the health situation in the Lower Valley was rapidly deteriorating and so a health tax was instituted which was designed to reverse the trend.
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John Good's admonition that the overwhelming majority of the people were of sound health was ignored. And besides, for those who did have health issues, there was available to them a very fine doctor who was compensated handsomely by the people because they had a good amount of disposable income with which to pay the doctor, though it must be pointed out that over time, due to the various taxes that were constantly being levied, that disposable income had dwindled somewhat. It must be noted that the doctor was happy, for he had just enough patients. He was not overworked and therefore he had enough time to spend with his family and so it could be said that it was a good situation for all concerned.
Inspite of the general sense of well-being, a Health Commission was formed to study the conditions in the Lower Valley. Everyone knew what the findings would show: the situation was dire and more monies would be needed in the coffers to improve things.
Many months had passed. All matters concerning the health issue had been resolved. One afternoon John was sitting in one of the groves by the wide river with family and friends. He felt the free wind on his cheeks. Everyone was content. These were the good times. Suddenly an old friend came up to him excitedly. "Have you heard John? The Assembly has just issued a statement, that for only a very modest tax levy everyone will be provided with….”
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