Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:16 pm Post subject: Three contractors
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the Parlamental House in Can berra. One is from Sydney, another is from Adelaide, and the third is from Melbourne . All three go with a Parliment House official to examine the fence. The Adelaide 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 $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me." The Sydney contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me." The Melbourne contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the Parliment House official and whispers, "$2,700." The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?" The Melbourne contractor whispers back, "$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the guy from Sydney to fix the fence."
"Done!" replies the government official.
And that, my friends, is how the new stimulus plan works. Richo
