Huainanzi - Entry 93

Trey Smith

In a degenerate society, those who possess the wealth of the land and are in positions of authority over others exhaust the energy of the common people to serve their own sensual desires.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

For me, this snippet goes straight to the heart of the current debate in Congress. The arch conservatives don't want to see the Bush tax cuts expire because that would mean that the wealthy would have to pay a bit more. The only way they seem willing to cut a deal is if services that the poor depend on are cut drastically.

Both of these stratagems "exhaust the energy of the common people" because both impact the poor substantially. If the rich don't pay their fair share, then services will be cut because the government will be bringing in far less revenue. If services are cut in order to cajole the rich to pay a wee bit more, we still end up in the same place. The common people get screwed!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.