Fun but scary

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the WhiteHouse. One is from Chicago , another is from Tennessee , and the thirdis from Minnesota . All three go with a White House official to examine the fence. TheMinnesota contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring,then works some figures with a pencil. "Well," he says, "I figure thejob will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100profit for me." The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, thensays, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for mycrew and $100 profit for me." The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over tothe White House official and whispers, "$2,700."

The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like theother guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?" The Chicago contractor whispers back, "$1000 for me, $1000 for you,and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence." "Done!" replies the government official.

And that, my friends, is how the new stimulus plan will work.