If you ever wondered why government contracts were expensive...

[rebbonk]

Three contractors bid on repair to the white house fence. One is from Chicago, another is from Kentucky, and the third is from New Orleans. All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.

The New Orleans 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 Kentucky 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.

[Melisandre]