Alice J. Capen

(Takes place 11 years before TPM)

Obi-Wan Kenobi gets an economics lesson.

For two thousand years the Outer Rim planet Ti had been a member of the Republic. During that time, they had experienced enough peace for the people of that planet to take it for granted that that was the natural state of affairs, and they no longer felt the need to be a part of an outerworld government body. One generation a hundred years ago voted to recede from the Republic and declared the planet as isolationist. But the past few years of Ti's people found themselves deep in battles to defend their home from interplanetary marauders, slavers and outlawed regimes bent on adding to their territories.

Now the queen has asked the Senate for help. In response, the Senate promised to send an ambassador to visit Ti, hoping that the planet would abandon its isolationism and join the Republic again. In return, the Republic would help support Ti's defense.

The Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were chosen to be the ambassadors.

The two Jedi walked down one of the Temple halls on their way to the Brianna where they would begin their journey.

"Janell thinks she's having trouble understanding economics." said Obi-Wan. "But it's difficult for me to explain it to her."

"I'm sure Master Toorunn will help her. It's not that difficult to understand." said Qui-Gon.

"Well, I would like to help out any way I can -- I also want to look as if I'm intelligent and more knowledgeable, especially because I'm older. But when I try to talk economics, I don't even know where to start." confessed Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon smiled. "Just because one is older, does not automatically mean one is more knowledgeable, or wiser. Ideally it would be. But it isn't always that way."

Obi-Wan wished his pants had pockets so he could put his hands in them. "Well.....how would you explain economics?"

Taking a deep sigh, Qui-Gon yielded. "Alright. It's like this: a business hires workers to work for them. The products are made, distributed and sold. The workers get paid. The workers use their pay toward products created by other businesses. The better the product, the more likely they will be purchased, thus creating a profit for the companies. The profit the company receives goes toward creating more products, hiring more people and raising more salaries, which means more people have more buying power, which, of course, goes right back into the businesses. That creates a wealthy economy.

It is enhanced and improved by competition. If you have more than one company selling the same type of product, those companies try to outdo each other for the sake of attracting more customers. Hence the products get better, more creative and less expensive.

That's how the economy in a free market works. It is the best kind of economy."

"What if a person can't find a job?" asked Obi-Wan.

"That person will have to honestly scrutinize himself. Does he have the kind of skills that attract employers? If not, then it is his responsibility to acquire them. There are people who leave the military and find the skills they had learned in the military were not suitable for private industry. And I'm using this example because it happens quite often. They have a hard time finding decent employment. Most of those veterans do not whine and complain in a shameless attempt at aggrandizing self-victimization.. They assess themselves. They take realistic inventory of what they have and don't have, and they take steps to remedy what they don't have, either through college or vocational school by use of scholarship, money saved, borrowed or granted. Some individuals find satisfaction with starting their own businesses. Something else; it is not the right of an individual to demand a business to accept him as an employee. It is not fair for a business to be forced to pay a salary plus overhead toward someone who's lackadaisical or incompetent. That incompetence can affect the quality of the business' product, which, in turn, affects its attractiveness to consumers. That hurts everybody in the company.

Some people seem to have the erroneous tendency to think of businesses like corporations as being a massive structure of souless matter. Every business, small or large, is made up, first and foremost, by people. Even the largest corporations were started by one or a handful of people who had good ideas. Their success made their venture larger."

"O.K." sighed Obi-Wan, "what about raising minimum wage?"

"It's wrong to raise the minimum wage."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to ask you this: what good will it do?"

Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders. "To give small-wage earners more buying power?"

"If those minimum wage earners want more buying power, then they are the ones who need to take steps toward improving their own worth. Minimum wage was never meant to satisfy the budget requirements of a household. It is, instead, a stepping stone toward better opportunities, acquiring new skills, and proving one's worth. To put it bluntly, if a forty year old man is still working as a minimum wage earner and he's been working at it since he was eighteen, and complains to the government to do something about it, then he's an idiot."

"Well, for the sake of argument, why shouldn't minimum wage be raised?" asked Obi-Wan.

"If an individual company chooses, on their own, to raise an employee's wage, then that's fine. But what you're talking about is a government mandated wage increase for all companies?"

Obi-Wan nodded his head.

"O.K. Let's say every business was forced to increase minimum wage to "enhance" the income of minimum wage earners. Where are the companies going to get that money? Employers can't just add extra credit amounts to an employee's payroll from out of the blue. They can't just print it up in the computer and say, "there you go." Companies don't have a secret room somewhere in which a lot of credits are piled in the middle of the floor just sitting there, doing nothing. All money that goes into a company comes from either stockholders who's invested their private money, or customers who spend their own money in return for the company's products. And customers are the main goal of any business. The money the company makes must then go toward paying the utilities the company uses, the purchase and maintenance of equipment and machinery, building maintenance, the salaries of the employees, and the materials that are required for that company to make their product. And all those things listed: utilities, materials, equipment -- even building maintenance, plumbing, repairs, cleaning and what not, all require the services and products of yet more companies.

So -- every company must pay a higher minimum wage because government says so. The one and only way the company can meet that demand is to raise the prices of their product, be it vegetables, soap, droids or janitors. Everything on the market -- everything -- because government says "raise their wages", is now more expensive than it used to be. Apartment rents are raised because everything the apartment needs to be run and maintained involves several businesses that were forced to raise their wages as well. Food is now higher priced; fuel, electricity, clothing -- everything. So how does that help minimum wage earners?"

Obi-Wan, with a hint of disgust said, "It doesn't help them at all. Because the higher prices they have to pay negates any mandated wage raise. They're in the same boat as they were before."

"Exactly!!" said Qui-Gon, "And if you observe the price of goods going up throughout history, it corresponds with raising of wages. It's a vicious cycle. That cycle can be stopped if government keeps its nose out of where it doesn't belong. There's only one entity that benefits from government mandated wage raises." Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan, waiting for an answer.

Obi-Wan smiled. "The government."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Why?"

"Because higher wages mean higher taxes. The government gets the money."

"And at the same time, politicians who push for wage raises benefit by looking as if they care about those poor shleps who make minimum wage. Socialistic engineering displays little or no value in personal integrity. Many politicians "bank", for selfish reasons, on the fact that there are a lot of people whose thoughts go no further than the credit amount they see in their hand. Many people don't seem capable of thinking further into the 'cause and affect' mode. And some politicians or "political leaders" build their power-base over the concept of victimization."

"It's a win/win situation for the government." said Obi-Wan.

"And it's a lose/lose situation for everyone else."

They walked on for a while before Obi-Wan asked, "Could you write that down?"

Qui-Gon laughed. "If you want that written down, you do it!"

"But the way you explain it is much more eloquent."

Qui-Gon smiled and shook his head. "You write it down, padawan."

They arrived at the pad and greeted the pilots Zen and Teilor. When everything was ready, and everybody was settled, the ship took off.

---------

The Brianna landed on a makeshift landing pad just outside the largest city on Ti. The Jedi were met by a friendly welcoming committee who escorted them through the city to the queen's palace. Humans were considered tall compared to many species, and Qui-Gon was taller than the average human. The people of Ti were only four feet in height which made the Jedi stick out conspicuously.

When they got to the palace, a company of soldiers escorted the visitors to the queen herself. She possessed no remarkable beauty, at least not the kind of beauty that is typically attributed to queens, but Qui-Gon felt the strength of her soul. And if she was able to keep this planet defended from numerous invaders who had superior technology, her strength as a leader must be redoubtable.

She greeted the visitors graciously.

Qui-Gon bowed and spoke: "Your Majesty, I am Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. We come to your planet as representatives of the Republic."

The queen inclined her head in respect and ordered chairs to be brought. Two of the largest were brought and the visitors settled down in them and found them to be comfortable, albeit rather small. They accepted refreshments.

The queen asked, "What are Jedi? I've heard of them, but, unfortunately, by the time I was born, our education, even mine, veered away from offworld knowledge."

Qui-Gon spoke. "We are an order of knights that study the Force and use it for gaining knowledge and wisdom. We also use it for defense."

"The Force. I've heard of the Force. But I don't know what it is beyond the usual definition as a power to exert an influence, or as a phrase for a crew."

"The Force is the energy that is within and around all life. It makes creation possible."

"Is it a religion?"

"Not really a religion, strictly speaking. It's a study based on factual presence, and not just on faith. Although it makes creation possible, the Force itself is not the root. The Force is a nexus to a greater Source."

"You said the Force was also used in defense. Do you use it to fight battles?"

"If it is necessary, yes. But in defense only. Never for attack."

"We may need that defense." she said sadly. "I'm wondering if it is time for us to adopt the technologies that you have. As a society, we prefer to use our own minds to promote scientific discovery and invention. But I'm afraid that our technological isolationism will mean certain doom for us. The invasions against our planet has become more frequent, and I am in fear that each coming invasion will be the one that enslaves us. I ask the Republic to help us."

"The Senate is ready to offer what assistance you need." said Qui-Gon.

"Thank you." said the queen

A banquet had been prepared and the queen led them to the large dining room and hall where they met with military and civilian officials.

Whether the timing was happenstance or intentional, was unknown. But the festivities for the visitors were well underway when Zen, one of the Brianna's pilots, contacted Qui-Gon over the comlink to warn him of the arrival of ships. Almost immediately, corroborating Zen's report, sirens blared, warning of an incoming invasion.

"Well, here's one now." sighed the queen. "This is an example of what we have to go through."

"And an opportunity for us to observe who the invaders are so that the Republic can know how to take action." said Qui-Gon.

The military had already sprung into action.

Latest technology to this planet -- hopelessly archaic by galactic standards -- the weapons of Ti were brought to bear and pounded upon the invaders' ships when they flew within range.

The invaders' ships were fast, but the defense was furious and desperate, and although the ships were equipped with shields, they appeared to be evading as many missiles as possible, probably to keep the ships' energy supply from being drained.

The two Jedi reached out with the Force to scrutinize the attackers, and found them to be part of an underworld society. Such societies flourished in the Outer Rim which made it dangerous and risky for planets to not be a member of a strong defense group.

The ships attacking Ti do not seem to have the latest in pirated technology which could mean their society might be a minor and poorer one. That might be why they haven't been able to subjugate Ti. But they also may simply be wearing Ti's defenses down to make subjugation easier. What ever their tactics, they needed to be stopped.

"Let's bring one of the ships down." said Qui-Gon to his padawan.

They concentrated on one ship.

The energy that supplied the ship with life was suddenly cut off, and the pilot thought he had been hit. Then his ship acted as if it were caught in a tractor beam. It descended purposefully toward a specific place on the ground. The pilot had been under the assumption that the Tis did not have that kind of technology. The ship settled gently on the ground right in front of two humans. The pilot made sure the hatch was locked. They weren't going to take him prisoner. The taller human moved a finger and the hatch opened. The pilot cocked a blaster.

"You won't take me alive!"

The marauder tried to blast the two humans but his weapon jammed. He beat on it and shook it, but it still would not work. He tried to leap out of the cockpit to run, but his behind seemed to be glued to the seat.

Members of the military ran up to join them.

"I ain't talkin'!!" the marauder shouted.

Qui-Gon raised his hand a little, and asked in a mild voice, "Who are you and who do you work for?"

The marauder's demeanor changed suddenly to being cheery.

"My name is Squiggles and I work for The Great Harkfink the Horrible who used to be called Hank who used to have a regular job when he was young but realized over time that being a pet groomer wasn't his calling, so he quit that and moved to the fourth planet in the Korbo System that's about a half parsec from here, east of Ti's polar star four degrees as the duck flies, and if you go to 67408 Zignee Avenue -- that's our headquarters -- you'll find the Great Harkfink the Horrible who is a rather nice guy except when his morning toast isn't buttered right -- he likes to have his toast buttered on both sides -- can't stand the morning without his toast, he likes it crispy on the outside, soft in the inside, but hey -- what can you expect from an ex-pet groomer with red hair -- anyway, we're a rather small group, hundred and twenty-one to be exact, it would have been a hundred and twenty-two but Turk had to do some grocery shopping for the Great Harkfink the Horrible so there's only a hundred and twenty-one, and we don't have what you would call "a lot" in weapons, but Harkfink the Horrible is hoping to accumulate more five days from now with a transaction that will take place on Korbo with the Road Kill Gang -- and they look like road-kill too -- at 4 p.m. at Berny's Bar and Grill that's not really a bar and grill - I mean it's a bar and grill -- you can order beer and food there and stuff like that, but it's a front for weapons running so it's not really a bar and grill, I mean a nice couple wouldn't want to go there you know what I mean? Anyway, we're trying to expand our operations and rub elbows with the top dogs, so the Great Harkfink the Horrible chose this planet to add to his empire -- well, it's not really an empire yet -- but he's trying to make it one...."

Obi-Wan's eyes were starting to glaze over.

"....and this planet's nearby and a pretty easy target -- I mean, can you imagine somebody not keeping up with the latest technology, especially in the Outer Rim -- I mean, what are they, dumb or something? They think they're going to be left alone within a neighborhood full of opportunistic criminally-minded entrepreneurs? Anyway, since we don't have a whole lotta weapons right now, all we can do is buzz around, drop a few rounds, make general havoc and make other gangs think we own this planet and make sure they don't muscle in on our territory, because if they do, it'll be really really really annoying, you know? Have you ever hit somebody with a bantha patty? They don't like it. Soft bantha poop makes great crack sealant. But you should smell it when you turn the heater on. It attracts bugs. Have you ever attracted bugs? It can be pretty annoying if you're trying to sleep, but if you're lucky, you might catch a few of the crunchier ones..."

Qui-Gon, with a hint of mirth on his face, moved his hand a little. "You may stop talking now. It would please you to cooperate fully with these gentlemen." indicating the Ti soldiers.

"Yes. I would be pleased to co-operate." said Squiggles happily, and he clambered out of the cockpit. Some of the soldiers escorted him to the palace.

One of the soldiers, a sergeant, asked Qui-Gon, "How did you foster such a response out of him? One's we've captured in the past were contemptuous and unco-operative."

"The Jedi are trained in the ways of mind-suggestion." said Qui-Gon.

The Great Harkfink the Horrible's ships were still flying about, damaging buildings and injuring people. Qui-Gon watched one ship get hit by a ground cannon, and go down. The soldiers around the Jedi were communicating with other troops who had surrounded the downed ship.

The sergeant came up to Qui-Gon. "Sir, our troops are holding the downed pilot. Would you want to question him as well?"

"Yes. This second pilot's answers will help verify the first's."

The sergeant reported back to the troops as an affirmative.

---------

The second pilot's story, under the influence of the Force, corroborated with the first pilot's. Qui-Gon communicated with Zen and Teilor in the Brianna and instructed them to contact Coruscant and relay to them what Squiggles and the second pilot confessed.

A signal must have been given to Harkfink the Horrible's ships, for they suddenly flew up and out of the planet's atmosphere and headed home. The air-raid sirens went silent, but ambulance and firefighter sirens continued.

Qui-Gon Jinn advised the Brianna that the ships left, and Zen, in turn, sent the information to Coruscant. It was important that action take place quickly. No one knew if the pilots returning home knew that the location of their headquarters had been betrayed, and Qui-Gon wanted it to be pounced on immediately before Harkfink the Horrible's location could be moved.

The Jedi and their group of soldiers headed back to the palace where they met the queen and the ambassador.

Qui-Gon asked the queen. "Was that the typical method of attack?"

"Yes. I've been told of the confessions of the pilots', and if what they said is true, then I did not need to be as anxious about their attacks as I was, as far as their intelligence goes. However, we still need the Republic's help to put a stop to these attacks. It's wasting lives and resources for something so stupid as Harkfink the Horrible and his "empire"."

"I'd like to point out, Your Majesty," said Qui-Gon, "That you had a good reason to be anxious. A person doesn't have to be highly intelligent to gain followers. All they need is motivation. Evil motivation attracts evil people, and with them comes destruction."

The queen smiled. "You are right, Sir."

---------

The government of Korbo was notified about the location of the gang headquarters. Ti was not the only target. The Great Harkfink the Horrible's hive had been creating havoc on that system and it's neighbors for some time, and the authorities were happy to finally know the location of its nest.

With the assistance of the Galactic Military Police, the police of Korbo staked out 67408 Zignee Avenue to make sure it was indeed the place of Harkfink the Horrible's gang before raiding it. They did the same to Berny's Bar and Grill and routed out the Road Kill Gang.

---------

Qui-Gon did not care much for ceremonies; he would rather be somewhere else, either being productive or getting a little rest and relaxation. He mostly did not like the bother of standing stiffly along with Obi-Wan and members of the military, before a large group of people for the purpose of receiving praise. But the queen wished it, and it must be done. It was to officially mark the time of a new beginning, and leave isolationism to Ti's past. Ti was now reinstated into the Republic.

---------

Back on Coruscant, after all required briefing had been done, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were walking toward their chambers.

"I'm hungry." said Obi-Wan.

"So am I."

"Are we eating in the dining hall, or dining out?"

"Whichever you want is fine by me." said Qui-Gon.

"If we eat in the dining hall, I'll get to see Janell."

"Then you two can talk about economics."

Obi-Wan screwed up his face. "On the other hand, if we go out we can have shark."

"That sounds good. Or cracked crab. I would like to have espresso and cheesecake afterward." said Qui-Gon.

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded.

Qui-Gon continued, "Then when we get back home, you can write an essay about economics."

Obi-Wan made an expression of disdain. "On the other hand, maybe you can settle for a discussion between me and Janell about economics in the dining hall. Then I can eat a block of 'gelatin surprise' with a string bean in the middle of it."

Qui-Gon laughed. "When did our cooks ever serve gelatin surprise?"

"They never have that I know of, but it would be my luck for them to start tonight."

"Then you can change your "luck" and go out to eat cracked crab and cheesecake. Besides, writing the essay won't be that bad, as long as you understand basic economics. It doesn't have to be a large essay. It could be just one page if it's written well. It's not the length of the essay that proves your knowledge. It's the quality. When students are instructed to write an essay that requires a large number of pages, then the student focuses on the number of words and not the superiority of its content. Students end up trying to write with an hodgepodge of surplus nouns and adjectives that get in the way of the presentation of the topic, just to meet a numerical quota."

Obi-Wan grinned. "Yes. And they use a lot of "and"s "and"s "and"s and write with really large type."

"Yes." said Qui-Gon, "And that kind of garbage defeats the purpose of writing an essay. Speaking of economics; Ti will benefit from her membership in the Republic. Can you tell me why?"

"Well, Ti is again open to galactic free-trade, which means its citizens will be wealthier in time."

"Maybe not all her citizens, padawan, but definitely the enterprising ones will be. The ones who are not lazy. Free-trade can also destroy some of the black-market. Further, Ti's education will extend its curriculum to the galaxy's known sciences, the knowledge of which is vast."

"It's a win/win situation for Ti." said Obi-Wan.

"And it's a lose/lose situation for the Underworld."