“Three Contractors”Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House.One is from Chicago, another is from Kentucky, and the third is from New Orleans.All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.* The New Orleans contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.”Well,” he says, “I figure the job will run about $9,000.
That’s $4,000 for materials, $4,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me.”* The Kentucky contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, “I can do this job for $7,000. That’s $3,000 for materials, $3,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me.”* The Chicago contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, “$27,000.”The official, incredulous, says:”You didn’t even measure like the other guys.
How did you come up with such a high figure? ”The Chicago contractor whispers back:”$10,000 for me, $10,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.”* “Done!” replies the government official.And that, my friends, is how the Government Stimulus plan worked.Remember… Four boxes keep us free:- The soap box,- The ballot box,- The jury box,and…- The cartridge box.”I love my country. it’s the government I’m afraid of!”