Washoe County along with Rumpelstiltskin has discovered how to spin Gold from Straw - Kambiz Raffiee

Washoe County Along with Rumpelstiltskin has
Discovered How to Spin Straw into Gold

Dr. Kambiz Raffiee, Associate Dean of the Business College at the University of Nevada, Reno presented his report on the economic impact of Washoe County Government on the region. The total cost to Washoe County was $3,000.00. A real bargain as it told the Commissioners and staff exactly what they wanted to hear.

With this as evidence, the solution is clear; Government needs to tax and spend more, much more, double or triple the budget, until we have full employment.

In the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, the Queen had to guess Rumpelstiltskin’s name. In this modern day version of that tale, what would that name be?

Send your answer to info@nevadatrends.com

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This is not a criticism of Government and those essential services that Government provides. This is a criticism of the well-meaning but misguided thinking of some people in Government that believe everything flows (and should) from Government.

If advocates of the multiplier effect want to simply claim that Government is not just a “Black Hole”, I would agree, although it is of decreasing value, not increasing. The main thing often overlooked by those same advocates is, Government had to withdraw that wealth from the public and what would the value of that wealth be if it had remained in and circulated through the private sector.

As used throughout this article the word “Government” refers to Government in its totality. This is not referring to those rare but worthy projects seeded (startup funding) by Government, nor is this referring to those limited issues a civilized society elects to address through its Government, e.g. Library.

It is hard to know how many elected officials and high-level staffers buy into this notion. When the Commissioners discussed the matter, there was no indication of any reservation, while one Commissioner enthusiastically embraced it.

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Rumpelstiltskin is a character and the main antagonist in a fairy tale of the same name that originated in Germany. The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales. It was subsequently revised in later editions.

Story synopsis

In order to make himself appear more important, a miller lied and said that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king heard of this and called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a spinning wheel, and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning, for three nights, or be executed. She had given up all hope, when a gnomish creature appeared in the room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace, then again the following night for her ring. On the third night, when she had nothing with which to reward him, the strange creature spun straw into gold for a promise that the girl's first-born child would become his.
The king was so impressed that he married the miller's daughter, but when their first child was born, the dwarf returned to claim his payment: "Now give me what you promised". The queen was frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. The dwarf refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed, but before the final night, her messenger discovered the dwarf's remote mountain cottage and, unseen, overheard the dwarf hopping about his fire and singing. While there are many variations in this song, the 1886 translation by Lucy Crane reads:
Today I brew, tomorrow I bake;
And then the Prince child I will take;
For no one knows my little game
That Rumplestiltskin is my name!

When the dwarf came to the queen on the third day and she revealed his name, Rumpelstiltskin lost his bargain. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in a final 1857 edition to a more gruesome version where Rumpelstiltskin "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two." Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin flies out of the window on a cooking ladle (Heidi Anne Heiner).

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