"Smoke," said Marshbaum, "will fill my bar. It's the least I can do to help the tobacco cartel, which gets about a billion dollars a year. I'm sure the tobacco growers would want me to have several cigarette machines in my bar."
"And what happens when the bar fails. Your business record is as bad as cheap vinyl on a 50-year-old 45."
"I expect to fail," said Marshbaum. "It's all part of my business plan."
"Why would you want to fail?" I naively asked.
"So I can get money to keep from failing even more. Three trillion went to financial institutions. I figure I should get something for being greedy and a failure. That's the American way!"
"Even if all of what you said is true, President Obama has been trying to reduce subsidies to the rich and to eliminate most of the annual $100 billion in corporate welfare."
"As long as Republicans control the House and can block the majority in the Senate," said Marshbaum, "the American way of life will be preserved. Want a drink now?"
[Walter Brasch is author of the social issues mystery, Before the First Snow, and 16 other books. Before the First Snow is available at www.greeleyandstone.com, amazon.com, and other stores.]
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