The Government-Business Partnership, Illustrated

Thanks to Andy Conover for this "joke". I've taken the liberty of altering it to make it more germaine to Indiana.

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at an INDOT site. One is from Terre Haute, another from Rushville, and the third from Carmel.

They go with a government official to examine the fence.

The contractor from Terre Haute 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 Rushville contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 'I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.'

The Carmel contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the official and whispers, '$2,700.' The government official, incredulous, says, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'

The Carmel contractor whispers back, '$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Rushville to fix the fence.''

Done!' replies the government official.