Subject: The Stimulus Bill Explained
Subject: A SIMPLE EXPLANATION
Shortly after class, an economics student approached his economics
professor and said, “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’shouse.
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.”