English Original
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in Washington, D.C.: one from New Jersey, another from Tennessee, and the third from Florida. They accompany a White House official to inspect the fence.
The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure, takes some measurements, and then does some calculations with a pencil. "Well," he says, "I figure the job will cost about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
The Tennessee contractor also takes measurements and calculates, then says, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
The New Jersey contractor doesn't measure or calculate. Instead, he leans over to the White House official and whispers, "$2,700."
The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like the others! How did you arrive at such a high figure?"
The New Jersey contractor whispers back, "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence."
"Done!" replies the government official.
And that, my friends, is how it all works!
中文翻译
三位承包商正在竞标修复华盛顿特区白宫一处破损的围栏：一位来自新泽西州，一位来自田纳西州，另一位来自佛罗里达州。他们陪同一位白宫官员去检查围栏。
佛罗里达州的承包商拿出卷尺测量了一番，然后用铅笔计算了一下。"嗯，"他说，"我估计这项工作大约需要900美元：400美元材料费，400美元人工费，我自己赚100美元利润。"
田纳西州的承包商也测量并计算了一下，然后说："我可以以700美元的价格完成这项工作：300美元材料费，300美元人工费，我自己赚100美元利润。"
新泽西州的承包商既没有测量也没有计算。相反，他凑近白宫官员低声说："2700美元。"
官员难以置信地说："你甚至没有像其他人那样测量！你怎么得出这么高的报价？"
新泽西州的承包商低声回答："1000美元归我，1000美元归你，然后我们雇那个田纳西州的家伙来修围栏。"
"成交！"政府官员答道。
朋友们，事情就是这样运作的！