Any resemblance to the current situation in the world is coincidental
“Through the open window of the royal palace, there was a commotion from the street. Someone shouted loudly:

• Come on people. Come on. Beautiful and cheap apples!
  The Emperor, who was just finishing his favorite breakfast (his mother’s stuffed squid in sauce), approached the window curiously. The king saw an old man selling apples in a cart. A crowd of customers suddenly gathered around the old man. The apples looked tempting. The Emperor wanted apples for dessert. The emperor called the adviser and said: Here are 5 ducats. Go downstairs and buy me as many beautiful apples as possible. The adviser called the minister and said: “Here are 4 ducats. Go down and buy those beautiful apples for the emperor. The minister called the assistant and said: Here are 3 ducats. Go down and buy those beautiful fragrant apples for the emperor. ”The assistant called the commander of the guard and said: Here are 2 ducats. Run down and buy those nice apples for the emperor. The commander of the guard called the guard on duty and said: Here is 1 ducat. Go to the old man and buy those fragrant apples for the emperor. The guard came out in front of the palace and shouted sternly at the old man: Get out of here. These apples were confiscated for the emperor.
  The guard returned to the palace and said to the commander of the guard: Here is the boss. For one ducat there are half a cart of apples here. The guard commander visited the assistant minister and said: Here’s the boss. For two ducats – a bag full of apples. The assistant visited the minister and said: Here is the boss, For 3 ducats a basket is full of apples. The Minister visited the counselor and said: Here is the boss. For 4 ducats it is half a basket of apples. The adviser visited the royal chambers and said: -Your Majesty. Here are 5 apples on your orders. The emperor sat on the throne and stared at the apples in confusion and thought: -5 apples is 5 ducats. So, 1 apple = 1 ducat! And people are pushing to buy apples. The emperor then angrily said to the adviser: “- Double the taxes immediately. And introduce excise taxes on apples under the urgent procedure. “