September 19, 2008

The terminally underfunded state of the New Ozark government has long since driven most to seek their own, non-traditional sources of cash: the politicians from big business, and the bureaucrats from small. Most rely less on open bribery than a byzantine regulatory system designed to extract the maximum amount of fines.

Ironically, it has been Tom Thorn's business that has put a crimp in this tidy arrangement, as the always-territorial tete d'rues found themselves with the power to bribe and bully petty officialdom. Of course, business owners must still pay off the tetes -- but given the choice between dealing with semi-literate street bullies and dealing with the government, most shopkeepers don't even argue the price.