Who Pays the Piper?

In Merrie Olde England, so the story goes, there were pipers?lute players?who lived by their music. They would go to fairs or similar venues and perform, secure in the knowledge that they would be paid by one of the many who had enjoyed the pleasure of the dance. This is thought to be the origin of ?to pay the piper,? an adage that reminds us that if no one had come forward to pay the piper, the music would have stopped. This elementary rule of the market seems to have escaped the members of Indiana?s General Assembly.

Who Pays the Piper?

In Merrie Olde England, so the story goes, there were pipers–lute players–who lived by their music. They would go to fairs or similar venues and perform, secure in the knowledge that they would be paid by one of the many who had enjoyed the pleasure of the dance. This is thought to be the origin of "to pay the piper," an adage that reminds us that if no one had come forward to pay the piper, the music would have stopped. This elementary rule of the market seems to have escaped the members of Indiana’s General Assembly.
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