Eventually, the Secretary of Impropriety declared a ban on all winter clothing to be worn in the coldest months. This, he proclaimed, would strengthen the resolve of a spiritually bankrupt and morally decayed community. Police squads patrolled the streets like wolf packs and arrested anyone wearing pea coats, London Fogs, jackets with woolen or cotton insulation, gloves, scarves, hoods. At first, outraged denizens protested the edict, claiming the prohibition would cause the Gross Domestic Product to plummet, since no one would venture out of their houses in months of snow and icy slosh to work. But later a study conducted by the Bureau of High Minded Consensus showed that many husbands and wives acclimated to the conditions imposed by the harsh ban by devoting more time to interior decorating projects in the home. By late March, news crews rolled cameras inside the houses of compliant citizens, and conducted interviews with people from all walks of life. Often, the camera lingered on a close up of a winter painting hanging on a living room wall, then later, on the beaming faces of young housewives often dressed in thin jerseys, cut-off jeans, or with some, still in their morning robes, rayon or light cotton. One reporter commented that painting winter scenes, in addition to home redecorating, became a favorite past-time of those shut in for the winter. Another study, released by the Dept. of Impropriety's Commission on Quality of Life Issues, pointed to the sharp decline in both crime and highway accidents in winter. Soon, another project was under consideration: to have people wear insulated ski jackets, several layers of sweaters or parkas and knee-length boots in summer. Impropriety Delegate R. X. Hecht jr., a former administrator of class action recoveries, questioned the expenses incurred by adjusting home thermostats and all-day air conditioners to their coldest setting. A focus group created by the newly restructured Waste and Energy Commission is currently investigating the feasibility of such an idea and the effect this would have on both the networking of home communities and the superficially stable infrastructure of the corporate world.
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