In the City of the Sheep, a company named The Corporation manufactured fire extinguishers.
The extinguishers came in all different sizes.
Whenever a fire broke out in the City, the fire department brought out The Corporation’s extinguishers to put out the fires.
The City paid the Corporation handsomely every time the fire alarms went off.
The leaders of the corporation became rich.
But it wasn’t enough.
The CEO of The Corporation wanted more for his shareholders and officers.
He talked to a friend on the fire department.
He told the friend that if he started a few fires “here and there” he would pay him well.
The friend knew this was wrong but…
He had a mortgage to pay and kids to send to college.
So he accepted the deal.
The friend learned to start fires in such a way as to leave no trace as to who started it.
He also learned to start fires so as to blame other people.
But he was having trouble doing his job and doing this “side” job for the Corporation.
So he enlisted some of his friends to help.
And these friends had a brilliant idea.
“Why not go to other cities and start fires?”
“Yeah, great idea - we will make the fires so bad that the other cities will contract with the only company with the right equipment - The Corporation!”
“Oh yeah, then we will get more money from our friend!”
So the fires started spreading around the City of the Sheep in neighboring cities.
Predictably, the cities turned to The Corporation for help.
The Corporation got so wealthy that it bought the City’s only newspaper.
The newspaper spread messages like “Support the Firefighters” and “We Must Fight Fire over There before It Gets Here!”
The Corporation paid for every politician’s campaign.
Contracts continued to flow to The Corporation.
Eventually, some of the City of Sheep’s residents investigated some of the “fires.”
These investigators completed reports that proved that many fires were not accidental.
They tried to get the only newspaper to publish their reports of arson by firefighters and The Corporation agents.
But the newspaper laughed and called them “paranoid.”
So the investigators formed their own newspaper and published the reports.
The Corporation called the Mayor and asked him to take care of the investigators.
The Mayor said, “I would. But the City of Sheep only wakes up to hear the fire alarms. Then they call me and demand the firefighters get a raise!”
The extinguishers came in all different sizes.
Whenever a fire broke out in the City, the fire department brought out The Corporation’s extinguishers to put out the fires.
The City paid the Corporation handsomely every time the fire alarms went off.
The leaders of the corporation became rich.
But it wasn’t enough.
The CEO of The Corporation wanted more for his shareholders and officers.
He talked to a friend on the fire department.
He told the friend that if he started a few fires “here and there” he would pay him well.
The friend knew this was wrong but…
He had a mortgage to pay and kids to send to college.
So he accepted the deal.
The friend learned to start fires in such a way as to leave no trace as to who started it.
He also learned to start fires so as to blame other people.
But he was having trouble doing his job and doing this “side” job for the Corporation.
So he enlisted some of his friends to help.
And these friends had a brilliant idea.
“Why not go to other cities and start fires?”
“Yeah, great idea - we will make the fires so bad that the other cities will contract with the only company with the right equipment - The Corporation!”
“Oh yeah, then we will get more money from our friend!”
So the fires started spreading around the City of the Sheep in neighboring cities.
Predictably, the cities turned to The Corporation for help.
The Corporation got so wealthy that it bought the City’s only newspaper.
The newspaper spread messages like “Support the Firefighters” and “We Must Fight Fire over There before It Gets Here!”
The Corporation paid for every politician’s campaign.
Contracts continued to flow to The Corporation.
Eventually, some of the City of Sheep’s residents investigated some of the “fires.”
These investigators completed reports that proved that many fires were not accidental.
They tried to get the only newspaper to publish their reports of arson by firefighters and The Corporation agents.
But the newspaper laughed and called them “paranoid.”
So the investigators formed their own newspaper and published the reports.
The Corporation called the Mayor and asked him to take care of the investigators.
The Mayor said, “I would. But the City of Sheep only wakes up to hear the fire alarms. Then they call me and demand the firefighters get a raise!”
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