Three contractors bid to fix a broken fence at the white house. One
is from Chicago, the second is from Louisville, and the
third is from New Orleans. They all go with a white house official to check out the fence.
They take turns figuring
the NOLA 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 Louisville 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, folks, is how government works.
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!”
Always remember the immortal words of Ronald Regan, “I’m from the government and I am here to help.
If you still think you can trust the government, ask any Indian.