There were several possibilities. From past experience, Charlie had learned that investing in R&D paid off in the long run. But the long run, he feared, could be quite long. And he was becoming less patient. How, he wondered, could he improve his return on investment more quickly?

Along came a great idea: He learned that Stanley Works, a Connecticut tool manufacturer, planned to evade some taxes by simply incorporating in Bermuda. It could have dodged even more taxation by "establishing legal residence" in a tax haven like Barbados.

This was no big deal, Charlie figured. It might simply require a small expense for filing some legal papers, then, perhaps, renting a post office box in Bermuda and Barbados.

Might this upset the Treasury Department? Not likely. Treasury had recently waived penalties for big-time tax evaders, but not for the small fry. In fact, it recently increased its rate of auditing the working poor while cutting the audit rate for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

Would the U.S. government block such a move? So far, the administration in Washington, though normally quick to denounce the lack of patriotism of people who raised questions about some of its policies, seemed unconcerned. So that was one area that merited

further study.

Then Charlie became aware of another that appeared to provide even heftier returns. He observed that petty thieves and burglars thought they could reap good returns with rather minimal effort.

They were wrong. Such lawbreakers were quickly apprehended and punished.

In a recent case, a petty criminal had held up a local shopkeeper for the day's earnings. He was quickly caught and, within days, found himself in prison. The wheels of justice had moved smoothly and swiftly. The holdup had not been a good investment of the criminal's time; the return was terrible.

In contrast, leaders of giant corporations like Enron stole life savings from thousands of individuals. Investigators spent a great deal of time studying the matter, talking about it, analyzing it, parsing every facet, evaluating every corner of the events.

After months of analysis, nothing had been accomplished beyond lots of talk. Stealing from the public on a grand scale appeared to pay off handsomely. Indeed, it was entirely possible that revered politicians might conduct intense studies over a long period of time, then discover that such theft was

entirely legal.

Charlie at last knew just what to do. He would increase his political contributions.