The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

Chapter 13 • Helter Shelter 69
landlords bribed inspectors to look the other way. Finally, the owner
of BLOCK A, a decent man, couldn’t afford the losses or bribes
anymore so he just up and left.”
“Abandoned his own building?” spluttered Jonathan.
“Yes. It happens a lot,” she sighed. “Imagine walking away from
something that took a lifetime to build? Well, fewer and fewer
apartments were available but the number of tenants kept growing.
People had to squeeze into whatever was left. Even mean landlords,
like the one who holds BLOCK B, never had a vacancy again.
Rumour has it that he takes payoffs under the table just to move
applicants higher up the waiting list. Those with enough cash get by
okay. That nasty owner makes out like a bandit.”
“What about BLOCK B?” said Jonathan, wanting to be helpful.
“Can you get in?”
“The waiting line is awful. When Dame Whitmore passed away
you should have seen the brawl in front of the building – everyone
scratching and yelling at each other for position in line. Lady
Tweed’s son fi nally got that apartment – even though nobody
remembers seeing him in line that day. My family once tried to
share an apartment in BLOCK B, but the building code prohibits
sharing.”
“What’s a building code?” asked Jonathan.
The girl frowned. “It started as a set of rules for safety. But the
Lords now use it to determine our lifestyle. You know, things like
the right number of sinks, stoves, and toilets, the right number and
kind of people; the right amount of space.” With a tinge of sarcasm
she added, “So we ended up in the street where nothing meets the
code – no sinks, stoves, or toilets, no privacy, and far too much
space.”
Jonathan grew depressed thinking about her plight. Then he
remembered the third building – brand new and vacant. It was
the obvious solution to her problems. “Why don’t you move into
BLOCK C, right there across the street.”
She laughed bitterly. “That would be a violation of the zoning
rules.”
“Zoning rules?” he repeated. Sitting on the pavement Jonathan
shook his head, incredulous.