Congo: How to Get Money

The year's neatest budgetary trick was pulled off last week by Katanga's Prestidigitator Moise Tshombe, who badly wanted $40 million in Katangan currency to pay off old Congo war debts and keep his army in ammo. He merely closed all of Katanga's banks for the week, skimmed 5% off the top of all bank accounts, and then, to make sure no one was left out, gave landlords the choice of paying 50% of all rent revenue for the past six months or 5% of the total value of their property.

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