Government Stimulus

[edinsomd]

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.

 

[Larry Gude]

This is not a joke. This is how it is done. Over simplified but, accurate enough.

Government is NOT a business. It does not have a dollar and cents master to answer to. It has political masters to answer to and that means votes, favors, jobs and so on.

 

[tommyjo]

This is not a joke. This is how it is done. Over simplified but, accurate enough.

Government is NOT a business. It does not have a dollar and cents master to answer to. It has political masters to answer to and that means votes, favors, jobs and so on.

And you think business operates differently???

How do you think subs get work on construction jobs?

How do think sales reps get that big sale or land that huge new client?

Kickbacks and backscratching isn't just a govt phenomena.

 

[dontknowwhy]

And you think business operates differently???

How do you think subs get work on construction jobs?

How do think sales reps get that big sale or land that huge new client?

Kickbacks and backscratching isn't just a govt phenomena.

How on earth would you know?
You flip burgers for a living!

 

[Larry Gude]

And you think business operates differently???

How do you think subs get work on construction jobs?

How do think sales reps get that big sale or land that huge new client?

Kickbacks and backscratching isn't just a govt phenomena.

Big business. Sure. But, that's pretty much the same thing as gummint.

 

[edinsomd]

Now boys and girls, this is a joke. On the joke page. It's humor is in a grain of truth and a touch or irony- please take your political rants elsewhere.

 

[Larry Gude]

Now boys and girls, this is a joke. On the joke page. It's humor is in a grain of truth and a touch or irony- please take your political rants elsewhere.

I hesitated to comment at all but, thought what the heck; my interest in it is our detachment from how simply things work. We, the people, say we want, in effect, the cheapest bidder to do the job. If we had reason to believe they'd do a good job, that's how we'd choose and how we'd want our government to function. But, we don't vote that way. We vote for whomever is going to be that third guy; cost more, lower quality and service and the least amount of accountability. Yet, we act all surprised when what we vote for is what we get.

We laugh at the joke because we detach ourselves from it; "Oh, that silly gummint! THOSE people do things like that...". We absolve ourselves of any responsibility for it.

Properly understood, the joke would read like this;

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at our house.

One is from Chicago, another is from Kentucky, and the third is from New Orleans.

All three go with us 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 us and whispers, "$27,000."

We, incredulous, say, "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!" we say,

And that, my friends, is how the Government Stimulus plan worked.

Not as funny that way.