Stimulus Economics from an Immigrants Perspective
Paraphrased from Nikola Lakic
The economy was terrible and nearly everyone in town was depressed over debt that they could not collect. It seemed as though every business had an account receivable that was overdue. To make matters worse everyone in town was carrying debt that they could not pay.
One day a government agent came to town with instructions from the fearless leader to stimulate the economy. The agent entered the struggling hotel and flashed a $100 bill stating his intention to stay the night if the accommodations were up to par. The innkeeper took the $100 as a deposit and allowed the government agent to inspect his rooms before deciding on whether or not to stay.
As soon as the agent was out of sight, the innkeeper ran across the street to pay the butcher the $100 that he owed him for last month’s meat bill. The butcher quickly drove to the farmer who had supplied the meat and paid the $100 invoice that had been overdue for some time. The farmer who wanted to conceal his collections from his wife hurried to the town prostitute to pay for services previously rendered. The prostitute had an overdue bill at the same hotel that the government agent was considering staying at so she headed to the hotel and handed the $100 to the innkeeper.
After that rapid sequence of events the agent of the government returned to advise the innkeeper that his accommodations were not satisfactory and that he wanted his $100 deposit back. The innkeeper promptly returned the $100 and the agent left town.
After the agent’s departure, the innkeeper, the butcher, the farmer, and the prostitute were all in a great mood since they were all out of debt and had collected that which they were owed. The attitude of the town was transformed from depression to optimism, all debts were wiped out, and all of this came about with nothing really being done. The stimulus was declared to be a resounding success by the fearless leader who naturally took credit for it.