The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

Chapter 17 • The Special Interest Carnival 93
“Oh yes, ma’am!” said Jonathan, nodding hard.
“Well, how would you like to earn some easy money? It’s
either that or?” her voice turned threatening, “I’ll turn you in to the
carnival guard.”
“Oh, great,” said Jonathan, uncertainly. “What do you want me
to do?”
“It’s simple,” she smiled, all sweetness again. “Just walk around
the town this evening, hand out these fl yers, and tell everyone how
much fun they’ll have in our Carnival. Here’s a kayn now and you’ll
earn another with each participant that comes in the door carrying
one of these fl yers. Now go to it and don’t disappoint me.”
As Jonathan slung the bag of fl yers over his shoulder, she
cautioned, “One more thing. At the end of the show tonight, I’ll turn
in a report of your earnings. First thing in the morning, you must
turn over half of your pay at the town hall for your tax.”
“Tax?” repeated Jonathan. “Why?”
“The Lords require a share of your wages.”
Jonathan didn’t like the idea. He added hopefully, “If you don’t
report my earnings, I might work harder. Maybe twice as hard.”
“The Lords are wise to that, kid. They have spies everywhere,
watching us closely. If they see us hide your earnings, it could mean
big trouble – might even shut us down,” said the woman. “So don’t
complain. We must all pay for our sins.”
“Sins?” repeated Jonathan.
“Oh, yes. Taxes punish the sinful. The tobacco tax punishes
smoking, the alcohol tax punishes drinking, the interest tax punishes
saving, and the income tax punishes working. The ideal of the
Council,” chuckled the woman as she winked at the Circle Master
standing at her side, “is to be healthy, sober, dependent, and idle.
Now get a move on, kid!”