A New Mystery: Waun Mawn

 For a long time, folks have been studying the stones used at the Stonehenge complex, and there's this new idea that has come out.  The stones there....are used stones.  

Meaning?  Well....they were originally standing up at a location that is roughly 200 kilometers away (Waun Mawn).  The suggestion here is that around 3000 years BC....this group of folks just packed up, and left Waun Mawn, for the present location.

Why?  Unknown.  

Proven theory?  Well....no.  It bothers a lot of people to suggest this idea, and they are asking why the people with the 'cult' would take such a drastic move.

It's not like you calling your cousin 'Marvin' to say things have hit maximum density there in the valley, and you've decided to move 120 miles NW.  Then you mention to Marvin, you got 100 stones....some weighing 25 tons....that are part of the move.  Marvin's enthusiasm to be helpful probably won't go that far.

So this brings me to the oddball question....what would drive a bunch of cult-folks to this extreme level.....picking up all their rocks....then resetting the whole operation in another valley 200-odd kilometers away?

Years to accomplish this?  Here's the thing....you would need the stones placed in a precise pattern to 'aim' at the summer/winter Equinox business.  If you understood the pattern (having a 365 day calendar already)....maybe you could do this in one single year of calibration.  

But what would drive you to this extreme amount of work?  Even if you had two-thousand folks in the cult-community....the planning and execution of this move would take a huge amount of effort.

So, we are left with a new mystery....what went wrong at Waun Mawn?  

The Tax Story

 This is a rather simple story, and it has a thousand implications.

Once upon a time, NY state had a real income situation, with money flowing on a constant basis.  

Then at some point, going back to the 1980s probably....they extended themselves and got into debt.  Presently, if you counted everything up....it's nearly 350-billion total (NY City has the bulk of this).

The state needs more money, so the newest gimmick being discussed in the state capital is a tax on stock transfers.

Reaction by the New York Stock Exchange?  They sent a blunt letter to the state capital and said if you do this....we will leave the state.  What happens now?  

If you look around at commentary by the business community....they don't think that the state folks have the guts to go through with the tax.

But they generally point out three odd factors in this entire discussion:

1.  Maybe up until the 1980s, there was still 'industry' in the state and something to balance out things.  Well...there just isn't much made in NY state anymore.  

2.  It used to be a big deal for companies to have established headquarters in NY City, and openly brag that they were based there.  It's not that way anymore.

3.  Ever since spring of 2020....when Covid-19 arrived, folks in Manhattan (the movers and shakers of society/NY City)...have been leaving (not just the downtown region, but the state itself).  By the fall of 2020, it was generally figured that half-a-million people had left.  The expectation by the end of 2021?   If you count up that early group, the present group, and the rest or the year....it's probably going to be in the 1.2-million that left town.

The state, in simple terms....is screwed.

If they got real stupid and taxed the stock exchange folks?  It'd take less than one year for them to move.  They've likely already completed a survey of best places to move.  The sites are probably either in Florida or Texas.  

If they packed and left?  You could probably go and erase at least another 200k residents from the city, and figure a hundred-odd businesses (from bars to restaurants) would shut down within six months as well.

But here's the thing....if you don't tax these folks, who are you going to tax?  There just aren't any 'golden cows' left on the farm (they all wandered away).