Word: quota
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...Quota. Wolfe was a myth-sized American natural (6 ft. 6 in. and 240 Ibs.), born in the mountains of North Carolina. His eating, his boozing, his lovemaking, his flashes of temper and his formidable output of words, spoken or written, were indulgences on a massive scale. His self-pity and his ruthless use of others, both in fiction and in reality (his own family, mistresses, editors), made it plain to friends and perceptive readers that Tom Wolfe asked more of life than he had the talent to pay for. So harshly did he caricature his native Asheville that...
Still, in every caricature, there was always some saddening or joyous truth, just as in Wolfe himself; when he could shake whatever demon was riding him, there was a quota of humor, fundamental decency and kindness. Moreover, he packed a mighty literary ambition. He made it plain that he was out to lasso and pin down the Great American Novel. He wanted to force the whole torrent of the U.S. experience between covers, from mean Brooklyn alleys to the lush farms of the heartland, from city slickers to wary countrymen-and for good measure he meant to throw in mountains...
...tranquil of times, a federal budget contains much guesswork: spending, revenues and general economic conditions for a period ending 18 months after the calculations are made must be reduced to hard figures. The Administration's fiscal-1969 budget presented to Congress this week contains more than the usual quota of uncertainties because of war, both raging and threatened, in Asia; volatility in the domestic and world economies; hostility to new taxes, and the fractiousness of election-year politics...
...states have "assigned-risk" plans, requiring every insurance company to accept a quota of castoffs, whom they sometimes charge 150% above standard rates for minimum coverage. For some accident-prone drivers, even that price may be a bargain, but insurance companies have been so fast and loose about canceling policies that many of those dumped into the assigned-risk pool do not deserve it. In 1964-65, for example, almost 70% of New York's assigned-risk drivers had clean driving records...
...some plays had fuel gauges attached to them, their needles would indicate half full. The full half of Staircase, which opened on Broadway last week, contains uncompromisingly fine acting by the two-man cast, Eli Wallach and Milo O'Shea, and a decent quota of amusing though not wildly funny lines. The empty half consists of scanty action, no character development, and a drowsy repetitiveness that comes from distending a potentially compact one-acter into a full-length play. The comedy concerns two aging homosexual barbers and is unlikely to offend any one, except possibly barbers...