Mayor Geithner, Sheriff Krugman and the Only Game in Town

[proud2BlibKansan]

Imagine a terrible snow-storm brings a community to a standstill. There is a grocery store, with plenty of supplies to keep the town going for a few weeks, but the power is out and the owner and staff can't reach the store. The townspeople are enlightened enough to realize that if everyone takes what they please, the supplies wont last and the owners may be bankrupt when they return.

Sheriff Krugman advises Mayor Geithner to open the store and charge a dollar for each item. The town will have provisions, the owner will have money, and the town council can pay the owner at a later date for losses where the sale prices were too low. "What's important is that we are making it happen now."

Mayor Geithner agrees to open the store. But he’s afraid of the effect of the $1 dollar price on the town’s liability for the store’s losses. He decides to try to revive the store by getting the town involved in a public/private partnership. "First, I want some of you to invest in the store goods. Then you can sell them for a profit to the public. You set the prices to get what you can for the goods. Some of the profit will go to the store owner, some to town and some to you. Suppliers that can reach us will make an effort to do so and will get paid for their supplies while we are waiting for normal conditions to return."

Sheriff Krugman warned, "This is complicated and depends on strong participation. Meanwhile the food is perishing and may not be replaced in time. My plan gets the goods moving now so the supplies aren’t wasted. If your plan takes time and fails we will still have to get the food to people and we wont be able to charge much for it then."

continued: http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/where-the-action-is-and-where-i/