Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in DC; one from Illinois , one from Tennessee , and a third fromKentucky . They all go with a White House official to examine thefence.
The Tennessee contractor takes out a tape measure and does somemeasuring, then works some figures with a pencil. 'Well', he says, 'I figure the job will run about $900: $400 formaterials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Kentucky contractor also does some measuring and figuring, thensays, 'I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crewand $100 profit for me.'
The Illinois contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over tothe White House official and whispers, '$2,700.' The official, incredulous, whispers back, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?' The Illinois contractor whispers back, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you,and we hire that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.' 'Done!' replies the government official. And that my friends, is how it all works !
