I went to pay my taxes today. It was a sorry sight. As I waited, I saw about three dozen people pass through a line that, for whatever reason, maintained a static equilibrium of seventeen people. The building was nice, well lit, nicely heated, and newly furnished. I figured it had to be in much better shape than the digs of these poor folk. They were neither dressed as well nor were they as plump as Bruegel’s peasants. They looked more like the forlorn peeps in Depression-era photos.