govt and people

Because it is a monopoly, government brings inefficiency and stagnation to most things it runs; government agencies pursue the inflation of their budgets rather than the service of their customers; pressure groups form an unholy alliance with agencies to extract more money from taxpayers for their members. Yet despite all this, most clever people still call for government to run more things and assume that if it did so, it would somehow be more perfect, more selfless, next time.

Ivan Lebanovich

      I remember the first time I met Ivan Lebanovich. At least that I can remember, I had met him before in brief interactions at the bookmart I am employed but didn't really pay attention. This time, it was outside a coffee shop he, and I frequented. He was coming up as I was leaving. It took me awhile to figure out where I had seen him. A white haired man with many contrasts, neither short nor tall, plumpish but not fat. Not handsome but not ugly. He was unkempt, although only, I presumed, because he needed a woman to groom him properly before venturing out.   He looked on a tight budget but sometimes first judgements are incorrect. He was gregarious and certainly unpretentious but sometimes those things are put on me due to  my position as assistant manager at the prestigious mart.