Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there existed a nation filled with citizens who thought it was right and just to sacrifice in the present to create a better future for, not only their children, but children the globe over. These people were led by a great king named Efadee-Ar.
When Efadee-Ar became king, the land was in a shambles. Crops would not grow and the nobles would not pay their fair share in taxes. King Efadee-Ar could not wave a magic wand and repair these troubles, of course. But what he did was reassure his people, with both inspiring words and the treasury of the kingdom.
One of his first acts as king was to create a public works program and an authority of the valley. Lo, were peasants out of work soon made busy with the construction of dams and bridges, connecting the people with each other and bringing magic light and food storage to rural peasant villages. Soon, King Efadee-Ar addressed the problem of poor peasants who had worked all of their lives only to find nothing but misery and poverty at the end of their long lives.
"Henceforth, let no man or woman of my kingdom toil their entire lives and be left with nothing at the end of their lives. The kingdom will not present wealth, but merely dignity and sustenance in return for a life of work!", decreed the king.
The actions of the king were so effective and popular that the number of peasants suffering through lack of work was cut in half. However, the greedy nobles had been watching and planning. They screamed that the kingdom could not afford to continue in this direction. They insisted that it was foolish for the kingdom to spend money from the treasury in a time of economic crisis. They demanded fiscal prudence.
Now, the king, like all men, underneath the crown was simply a man like any other. Weary from arguing with the nobility, he agreed to balance the budget of the kingdom and tone down the expenses of public works.
What followed was truly sad, for giving in to the nobility resulted in the setback of much of what the king had worked for.
However, a new pressing emergency was taking shape. A king in a far off land had created a vast army and began to solve economic challenges, not by building for the future, but by taking what he pleased from his neighbors. King Efadee-Ar, being a champion for people, rose to the challenge and, working with other nations, defeated the evil king. In order to do this, King Efadee-Ar spent vast sums of money. In fact, he spent a whole quarter of all the money in the kingdom.
Now, you would think such a vast sum would bankrupt the kingdom forever. After all, hadn't the nobility suggested such over the far smaller expenditures fixing up the kingdom? Indeed, not only did this not happen, but the kingdom was set on a path of economic prosperity that lasted for generations. The nobility, while still rich, were less so... but many of the peasants became much more comfortable in their lives. The wealth of the nation had been compressed and shared among all of the citizens of the kingdom.
Due to this, King Efadee-Ar became the most beloved king in the history of the kingdom, and his reign proved to be the longest to ever take place, either before or after his time. And, thanks to their new prosperity and equality, the people of the kingdom lived happily ever after...
Or did they? To be continued...