Word: emperor
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ONCE THERE WAS AN EMPEROR whose subjects were suffering. Many of his people were without jobs, many more could not afford food, clothing or shelter because prices were rising so quickly. The ruler wanted very much to help and he sought sage advice on how to proceed...
...large city where the emperor's palace lay, hundreds of thousands of experts and consultants lived and worked. Although they all had suggestions, they were brushed aside as "time-worn," "interventionist," or "Keynesian." One day, some swindlers arrived. They said that the plague stemmed from the sins of policymakers over the past two score and 10 years. People relied too much on government, lacking enough faith in the free market. The newcomers told everybody that they were economists, with solutions that could bring about a tremendous recovery--not the recoveries of late, where high growth came only with high inflation...
...Well," the emperor said to himself in his gravelly voice, cocking his head to the right, "this is indeed a fortunate find. Not only can I garner re-election and possibly a majority in both houses, but I can say truthfully that those darned perpetually critical Democrats are, why, unforgivably stupid." He gave the swindlers all they asked for--the food stamp program, hot lunches for school children, and large chunks of medicare, medicaid, welfare, and student...
After a while, the emperor wanted a progress report. He sent his ambitious, young director of the Office of Management and Budget, whom he considered both clever and extremely fit for his job. The aide went to the economy room to see how things were going. He was taken aback. He rubbed his eyes and wiped his glasses. Seeing the largest vat of red ink in federal history, he gulped "none of us really understands what's going with these numbers." As he staggered back, he wondered "do you realize the greed coming to the forefront? The hogs are really...
...shrines stand a stone's throw from each other in Tokyo's Shibuya district. One looks toward the past; the other embodies the present. The first, the Meiji memorial, a Shinto edifice of Japanese cypress embellished with gilded copper, is dedicated to Emperor Hirohito's grandfather. The other, which glints a deep azure in the sun, is the modernistic steel-and-glass headquarters of NHK, Japan's public broadcasting system, symbol of a national obsession: television...