THE THIEF-CATCHER: A Story About Why People Pay Taxes

Like Shiver, Gobble and Snore's elementary social contract this ""explanation"" of why we ali pay that ""little bit of money"" called taxes is primarily an exercise in socialization. In this case a group of busy townsmen voluntarily agree to chip in to hire a policeman to rid their village of a thief they are all too busy to catch -- fine as far as it goes, but not much related to either the historical origins or the contemporary complexity of taxation. Most adults will be able to think up equally instructive little stories on their own, and, in the case of the suggested ""Activities to Reinforce the Concept of Taxation"" (tax the teacher one penny every time someone in the class hands in a perfect paper), they ought to be able to do considerably better.