A modern parable for our times
In the light of what I see an inevitable, I thought I would write a very simple story to shed light on the reasons why the redistribution of wealth, and socialism in general are such an evil idea. On this Tax Day of 2010, I anticipate, as do many others, that our current president will soon become widely known as a socialist/marxists. Although that claim is denied today, I believe when it can no longer be cloaked as “progressive liberalism” a time will shortly come when the response changes. Instead of denial to these claims the response will become “So what? Why is socialism so bad, don’t you care for the poor?”
And so we begin our tale.
A long time ago, in a galaxy made up in my imagination there lived three farmers. The three farmers were brothers in their mid thirties, living in a region of the world known for its plentiful harvests and amazing soil. All three brothers spent their time in a similar way. Each would till the soil in the late fall and winter preparing it for planting in the spring. Each of the brothers would rise early in the morning to eat breakfast with their families. They had been blessed with children, modest homes, and 600 acres of land left by their father. When the father died he left each son with the same allotment of his land, in a desire to see them all prosper for their own families.
Even though they all came from the same noble beginnings, the three men were different people with different personalities. The oldest brother was a hard worker, always willing to give everything he did that little extra effort. He always worked long hard hours. Even when there was no work to be done you could expect to find him crafting some new project in the Barn, or re-cleaning his equipment. The oldest brother was a good man, with a good heart who wanted to see his family succeed, and his sons to grow up to be strong men like his own father. Even though his father left him the same equal share of his land, he had left him the very best fields. It was clear his father liked him the most when he was alive, and even gave him newer farming equipment than his younger brothers. Even though he was a little better off than his younger brothers due to his keen investments, he was not a bad person. He loved his family, and wanted to see nothing but happiness and success for his younger kin.
The middle brother was similar to his older brother when it came to work ethic. He worked hard, and did not mind doing so. He did differ in his approach to problems though. He did not want to spend one more hour than needed away from his young wife. He knew that if he would work smarter than his older brother, he could accomplish just as much, with less effort. This was a rewarding quality at times, and not others. His attempts to work smarter than his older brother did not always work. In fact nine times out of ten he was a miserable failure. It didn’t stop him though, he would keep working hard, and although he was not wealthy like his older brother, he knew the opportunity was in front of him, he just needed to make it work. After all he had the same 200 acres of land his older brother did. His older brothers land couldn’t have been that much different.. right? His father planted the same fields he now owned and never failed to produce a healthy crop. Yes, he knew it just took innovation, and he could succeed. He knew he could be even wealthier than his older brother. Thank God for him, his wife was willing to stick by him in all his hair-brained ideas. She loved him, and even though she didn’t understand it all, she was never one to complain, and always up before her husband, many times working harder than him.
The youngest of the three was another matter altogether. He wasn’t lazy perse.. well let me back up, I need to talk about his early life so we can all be on the same page. You see when the youngest son’s father died he was still very young. He was raised by his oldest brother more than his father. He had struggled his entire life. He always got bad grades, and flunked out of school. he got in fist fights with his neighbors, and he always took to drinking a little more than he should. All habits picked up in his youth, that were now effecting his adult life in very bad ways. He was known in town as someone who occasionally put his hands on is wife out of anger, which didn’t make him any friends. Not the mayor though. The mayor knew this was good boy. He could see a lot of the boys father in him, and he knew he just needed a fair chance like his other two brothers.. but we will come to that story in a minute.
The youngest brother did not like to work. It did not matter that the last frost had just ended, and seeds needed to be in the ground ASAP. He just sat around feeling sorry for himself. This went on for weeks. Before he knew it the planting season was over. His older brothers had spent many hard days working the soil and planting the crops. Not the youngest, instead he spent the money that was meant for heating oil, and drank his sorrows away. Why didn’t anyone like him? Why did he have it so much harder than everyone else?
Finally, after weeks of pity parties and drunken fights with his wife he decided to plant his crops. Sadly, he was simply to late. By the time he got his seeds in the ground his older brothers already had strong healthy plants. It would be a miracle if his plants would be ready to harvest before the light changed and the world got colder.. and not so great for growing anything.
Harvest time was always an amazing time of year in the town next to the three farms. The townspeople would walk the streets buying produce fresh from the fields. Vendors would set up and sell new farming equipment to the farmers who had just made a lot of money selling their crops. of course this was good for the vendors who would then take the money they made and invest in their own businesses. New people would be hired on, even new business ventures would pop up all over town. This was the greatest time of year for the small town.
As the middle brother wheeled his goods into town he had a huge grin on his face. His older brother noticed him walking up and couldn’t help but ask. “Brother, why do you look so happy? Did you do well” with a hint of excitement in his voice. The oldest wealthy brother was always excited to see his younger brothers providing for their families. It helped him feel like he had done a good job of being a role model to them.
“Boy do I have a story for you, older brother” Said the middle brother to his older sibling.
“I always plant Corn in my fields, as we all do. But I heard about what happened to old man Hapinsack down in Middleton. He passed on, and there was no one to plant the potatoes in his field this year. Out of a guess I thought, HEY I should plant half potatoes this year, just in case someone might want some. Well wouldn’t you know it, nto a single other person in 100 miles planted potatoes this year, and people came from all over to buy my crop!”
In an act of intuition the middle brother had stumbled onto a windfall of cash for the high priced potatoes. Not only did he get tripple what they cost last year, he was able to buy old man Hapinsacks land with the profits. Everyone who saw the potatoes was amazing by their quality, so he though what better time to invest and expand his operation by another 100 acres. It was official, by the following year he would be more wealthy than his older brother. All from his own hard work and careful planning.
Just as they finished their conversation the youngest brothers wife came down the road sobbing. She walked right up to the Mayor who was enjoying a glass of lemonade and sobbed right into it. With a concerned look the two brothers walked over and asked what the problem was. Apparently their younger brother had planted to late, and his crops were all immature. Beyond that they were sick because he had taken no care of them. What the crows didn’t take his poor irrigation system finished off. His family had to sell their 200 acres in order to move in with friends. In the midst of all of this the wife was pregnant with another young one, this was NOT good news.
The older brother immediately offered to help by providing them a place to live. The middle brother then offered them both jobs on his new farming endeavor for the coming year. Neither brother wanted to see their family in pain, and wanted to help in any way they could.
Then came the Mayors response to the problem.
“Well now, this is just not right. How can you two sit there and let your youngest brother live in poverty while you are reaping all the harvest. Between the two of you, half the towns income is divided to buy your crops. This is just not right, and I am not going to sit here any longer while you let your poor brother work as one of your labormen. Your father would not have put up with this. Its time for ACTION!”
With that statement the mayor made an official decree that half the lands belonging to the eldest, and half the lands belonging to the middle brother were to be to be divided up and given to the youngest brother. Beyond that, the two brothers were also to pay for purchasing a new modest home for their younger brother. They were ordered to pay for his food, his medical expenses, rehabilitation from his alcohol addiction, and clothes etc.. for his soon to be new born. The may was not going to stand idle any longer while these two brutes took advantage of their younger brother. He was going to make things right. He was going to redistribute the wealth, and give the boy a fighting chance.
Wait a second? How did the two brothers put up with this? Why would they let someone like the mayor, who had never farmed a day in his life just take their property? Well it wasn’t by choice, I tell you that much. The sheriff and his gang were ordered to make sure it happened, under the watchful eye of armed men.
So does the story end with this injustice? Is that the moral of it all? No, in reality this is just where the story begins.
You see with the loss of land the two brothers could no longer afford to hire on workers for their farms. They laid off two dozen towns people who would likely starve without a new opportunity. The mayor further corrected the situation by forcing the brothers to hire them on again anyhow, and this time with paid health benefits. This new burden took its toll. It was not two seasons later that the run down equipment which they could not afford to fix broke down. The crops did not get planted, and the entire town nearly starved. Very soon people picked up and left town, looking for greener pastures somewhere else. The two brothers were the first ones out the door. They heard about some place where people were free to keep their own hard earned money. Somewhere that peoples property could not be stolen from them to be delivered to the poor.
I wish I could remember the name of that small town that is nothing but empty rotting wooden buildings.. you see I can’t remember because its now a ghost town. and no one talks about it anymore.
Oh yea.. I know.. its Marxville. The land of equal opportunity they called it. The most progressive town in the world. To bad it turned out to be such a nasty place.
The End
Just a great story! I hope I am at least one of the 1st 2 brothers.