Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his
economics professor and says, "I don't understand
this stimulus bill. Can you explain it to me?"
The professor replied, "I don't have any time to
explain it at my office, but if you come over to my house on
Saturday and help me with my weekend project, I'll be
glad to explain it to you."
The student agreed. At the agreed-upon time, the student showed up at the professor?s
house.
The professor stated that the weekend project involved his
backyard pool. They both went out back to the pool, and the
professor handed the student a bucket.
Demonstrating with his own bucket, the professor said, "First, go over to
the deep end, and fill your bucket with as much water as you
can." The student did as he was instructed.
The professor then continued, "Follow me over to the
shallow end, and then dump all the water from your bucket
into it."
The student was naturally confused, but did
as he was told. The professor then explained they were going
to do this many more times, and began walking back to the
deep end of the pool.
The confused student asked,
"Excuse me, but why are we doing this?" The
professor matter-of-factly stated that he was trying to make
the shallow end much deeper. The student didn't think
the economics professor was serious, but figured that he
would find out the real story soon enough.
However, after the 6th trip between the shallow end and the deep end, the
student began to become worried that his economics professor
had gone mad.
The student finally replied, "All we're doing is wasting valuable time and effort on
unproductive pursuits. Even worse, when this process is all
over, everything will be at the same level it was before, so
all you'll really have accomplished is the destruction
of what could have been truly productive action!"
The professor put down his bucket and replied with a smile,
"Congratulations. You now understand the stimulus
bill." |
