Bavarian King Ludwig II was a character. If you clicked the link, you know he is the one who brought you the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein.
And he died an intriguingly mysterious death.
But the point I want to make is that his phantastically lavish lifestyle, which eventually got him deposed after an epic power struggle, should be heralded by modern day proponents of the "trickle down" economy.
The theory basically says that you should leave the money of the super rich in their pockets, to do with as they please. Eventually, it will trickle down to the lowliest of peasants (in Ludwig's era), and jobs will be created.
Thus, modern day Bavaria has an Administration of Castles and Monuments, in other words, good government jobs thanks to the eccentric wastefulness of one man who died over 100 years ago. Well, okay, the French have that, too, and their guys have been dead for an additional 100 years.
Since the tour through one of his small castles, the question "why are the trickle-down folks not talking about him" has been with me.
Is it because his nickname "the Mad King" makes him unsuitable for the rational, scientific economist of the 21st century?
Or is it that they know that all this money could have been spent on more productive future jobs?
More teachers, for instance, to get Bavaria into the 20th century as more educated, more prosperous state?
His legacy is low wage tour guides and other jobs that cater to the millions of tourists.
But these days Bavaria is doing well anyway.
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