You answered your own question, but the answer is unthinkable to you. (Which is probably a good thing for those of us who live in the developed world, but cons

You answered your own question, but the answer is unthinkable to you. (Which is probably a good thing for those of us who live in the developed world, but consider that there is a large fraction of the world that views their local government as simply the biggest bandit around, and when the local government comes begging for cash, the solution is often to hire a bigger, meaner bandit. Or become one yourself.)