Improving Stories for Tiny Tories

The Unobtrusive Difference

Once upon a time there was an unobtrusive Difference, which lay between a Not Inconsiderable Wad of Taxpayers' Money and the Profit from a Corporate Sinecure. The purpose of the Difference was to keep the two apart, for they were deadly opposites. The Profit from a Corporate Sinecure caused no bother at all, while the Not Inconsiderable Wad of Taxpayers' Money was constantly making life difficult for the Honourable Member whose soul was embodied in this merry little monetary ménage. The Not Inconsiderable Wad of Taxpayers' Money expected the Honourable Member's exclusive service over a period of several years, with no guarantee of continued employment, to say nothing of a miserly expense account and considerable interruption to the Honourable Member's career in managing his inheritances. By contrast, the Profit from a Corporate Sinecure came in quietly and consistently as the just and deserved reward for a few hours' work each month and a few well-placed words of moral support whenever the Government ordered more state employees to go on the game. Had it not been for the Difference lying between the two, the situation might have become quite noisy and inconvenient; but the Difference was always ready, after its quiet and unpretentious fashion, to ensure that the Honourable Member never adulterated the clear waters of personal gain with the filthy murk of the public sector. As a reward for its long and faithful service, the Honourable Member finally abolished the Difference by helping to vote the public sector into well-deserved oblivion.