The Fence Repair 


Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at Government House. 
One is from Ottawa , another is from Merrickville, and the third is from Perth ( Ontario ) . 

All three go with an official to examine the fence. 
The Ottawa 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 Merrickville contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 

"I can do this job for $700. That's $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and 
$100 profit for me." 

The Perth contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the government 
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 Perth contractor whispers back, "$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire 
the guy from Merrickville to fix the fence." 

"Done!" Replies the government official. 

And that, my fellow tax payers, is how a Government Stimulus plan works.