Wealth To Be Criminal In Soweto

The township of Soweto is poised to become the first to declare excessive wealth a crime. Soweto, a fractured municipality near Johannesburg, South Africa, is a place where some of the world’s richest people live in uncomfortable proximity to the world’s poorest.

As a way to bring some equity to the citizens, a measure has been passed that will criminalize wealth and put a heavy penalty on many goods and services available in the province. “Soweto will become a model for the world.” Daniel Mbutu, the cities provincial mayor an sponsor of the bill says. “It is for all the world to see that here there is equity among all the people and that no man can be a rich man while his neighbor is hungry.”

The statute only criminalizes excessive wealth, based on a yet to be determined ratio of affluence and poverty within the province, setting graduated penalties and possible incarceration for worst case offenders. However the strongest effect is likely to come from the tax penalty assessed on luxury items and services. Preliminary indications are that many of the areas wealthier citizens support the taxation portion of the bill but are apprehensive about possible misuse of the harsh penalties included. It should be noted that much of the countries economy is based on agriculture, largely squash and cucumbers and that its richest citizens are foreign nationals who keep their holdings overseas.

The half giraffe in the photo above resides in a curio shop in Colfax, WA. Its other half was eaten.