The Ant and the Grasshopper

One of the classic Aesop's Fables is the Ant and the Grasshopper. In this fable, the ant worked extremely hard storing up food for the winter while the grasshopper encouraged the ant to slow down and relax with him. By winter, the ant had plenty of food stored and the grasshopper died of starvation.

The moral of the story: "It is best to prepare for the days of necessity."

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However, a More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories version seems to be more accurate and more related to our current situation.

Summarized version:

As the Grasshopper went throughout his days, he made a conscious choice to reject the "bourgeois, money-grubbing concept of 'making it.'"

Ant, on the other hand, worked hard to store up grain and stayed irritated at the grasshopper for his lack of responsibility.

By the end of the summer, the ant had had worked so hard he had "developed a peptic ulcer, ...thorax pains, and lost most of the hair on the top of his head. ...and his wife left him." To protect his goods, the ant installed a securty system.

When times got hard, the grasshopper had to humble himself and ask for food. The ant pointed out his laziness and irresponsibility, reminded him of our free market system, and refused to help him.

Unfortunately for the ant, the mantis/auditor came.

All of a sudden, the story began to change. After the audit, contested charges, suit, countersuit, and the ant's attempt to escape to the Caymans, the ant couldn't avoid the charges. After he was sent off to a correctional institution, his wealth was redistributed to community efforts, helping the grasshopper to begin organizing "a program for young area insects eager for cultural interchange..."

The lesson to think about:
Irresponsibility and avoidance of the rat race vs. collecting and hanging on to "things" at any cost...

Which is the worse crime?