Three contractors were bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in
D.C.; one from Illinois, one from Tennessee and a third from Kentucky. They
all went with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Tennessee contractor took out a tape measure and did some measuring,
then worked some figures with a pencil. 'Well', he said, 'I figure the job
will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit
for me.'
The Kentucky contractor also did some measuring and figuring, then said, 'I
can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100
profit for me.'
The Illinois contractor didn't measure or figure, but leaned over to the
White House official and whispered, '$2,700.'
The official, incredulous, whispered back, 'You didn't even measure like the
other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'
The Illinois contractor replied, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire
that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.'
'Done,' replied the government official.
And that, my friends, is how our government works!
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
"Jesus knows me, this I love"