The old man glared up at his relative. “What have you done for me? Why should I give you anything, when all you do is take?”

Sam’s eyes softened. “Done for you? What about your education? Your safety? Your medicine? I dug the very road that leads to your house. I protect you – this entire town – from criminals, marauders. Even if you could make it on your own, without assistance from me, the ones that couldn’t would burden you even more than they do now. You depend on me and my services as much as anyone else. It’s worth the small sacrifice, as opposed to having your nephews in the streets, uneducated, jobless, taking even more. It may not be perfect, but it’s better than the alternative.”

The man scoffed, unimpressed.

Uncle Sam shrugged. “If you have a better plan, please, bring it forward. Like I said, this is a democracy. You are free to say what you wish. You may even get things to change. But ignoring this issue, locking yourself in this shack, will help nothing.”
He paused for a response.