Swedish Economics: Rembrandt On Sale At 50% Discount With One Condidtion: You Must Immediately Donate It Back to the Museum, Entirely, and It Will Never Actually Leave the Museum Either, Ever

So let me get this straight: I can "buy" the Rembrandt for $49 million -- a sweetheart deal, I'm assured -- contingent upon my gifting it back completely to the museum I "bought" it from, instantaneously?

As skh says, some would call this merely a "donation," and a rather large one at that. But in Sweden, now, I guess this passes for a property transfer. The government starts out with it, you give the government a huge chunk of money, the government keeps it.

I know: You'll get a nice plaque saying you donated the painting.

Well, yes. College campuses are littered with such plaques but no one ever says anyone "bought" anything from the college, now do they?

I guess it's not a big deal. Just some fund-raising ploy that I'm sure some idiot (an oil sheik, I'm guessing) will go along with.

Still, it's a metaphor. Or a parable. Or something. I don't know, it's far too morally ambiguous for me to even contemplate.

When's Die Hard on again? I like when the Asian terrorist gets killed, because he stole the Baby Ruth candy bar and deserves to pay.

And I need that kind of reassurance of a world in which moral justice is swift and rides on the wings of 9mm bullet.

Otherwise I'm headed right back into the toilet for another two years.

posted by Ace at 03:20 PM

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