Convolution

Bad stuff happens. It's all around us. Most of us don't like bad stuff. Let's get rid of all the bad stuff-then there will be just good stuff and we can all live happily in Utopia. Who's going to get rid of the bad stuff? Who else? Government! Of course! Just pass laws against bad stuff and it will all go away. Right? Wrong! You know better than that! The United States presently has the greatest percentage of its population behind bars than any country in the history of the world. (Don't take my word for it-look it up!) Those of us not behind bars should be the happiest people in the world, shouldn't we? Unfortunately, those behind bars, all the people who put them there and keep them there and all the people who make and administer the laws to do away with bad stuff, are all consumers-their contribution to the economy negative. When we add up all the jail-birds, cops, lawyers, bureaucrats, lazy whiners and politicians, we have more people riding the wagon than pulling it. Raul Sanchez, a poor Mexican peon, was a good guy. He worked hard and, using the meager resources available to him, earned a PhD from Calpoly. Through a convoluted set of events and circumstances, tapping laws meant to delete drugs from the American scene, he sacrificed his noble ideals and used his education and creativity to acquire wealth beyond his wildest dreams. What goes up must come down. In spite of lethal force to insure the profitable status quo, someone in Washington got smart. It didn't make all the bad stuff go away but it did mitigate it and it did relieve the economic burden of enforcement. Raul? He lost his wealth and more but gained wisdom not part of the university curriculum.