Stimulus Economics from an Immigrant’s Perspective

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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.

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5 COMMENTS

  1. Debt Crisis

    Parade Magazine

    Marilyn vos Savant May 20, 2012

    Ask Marilyn: Is This the Solution to the Debt Crisis?
    Gary Dalessandro of Sharpsville, Pa., writes:

    A tourist stops at a small hotel, puts a $100 bill on the counter, and goes to inspect a room. The owner takes the bill and rushes off to pay the butcher, to whom he owes $100. The butcher races to his wholesaler and pays off his own $100 debt. The wholesaler hurries to the farmer and gives him $100 for the pigs he bought. The farmer hands over $100 to the party planner who set up his bachelor bash. The party planner heads to the hotel to pay the $100 she owes for the party room and lays the bill on the counter. At that point, the tourist returns to the front desk, says that the room is unsatisfactory, picks up the $100, and departs. The tourist has his money back, and everyone else is $100 ahead by reducing his or her debt by that amount. Could this be the answer to the debt crisis?

    Marilyn responds:

    Can you determine what happened, readers? The answer follows:

    Actually, everyone stayed exactly the same. For example, the farmer was owed $100 by someone, but he also owed $100 to someone else. The payments canceled one another out.

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    • Looks like Mr. Lakic read the magazine and adapted his story. Wish we could have published with his Slavic accent. The interview was a real hoot.

  2. I have one for Marilyn:

    If state statute says that any project over $5.Million in public funds has to be approved by the voters, and you craft the financing for your project to two loans, one for $4.8Million and another one for $200,000., if there was any additional costs at all, such as attorney fees or insurance or surety bonds that took the figure over $5.Million threshold, have you violated statute?

    Marilyn’s answer: Damn straight!

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  3. The government and its agent came out of this deal way ahead. The innkeeper came out the worst. He had to re-learn that old lesson about counting your chickens before they’re hatched. No sympathy for him. The butcher had to report the $100 as income on his taxes, the wholesaler had to report the $100 on his taxes as income, and so on as each paid their fair share of taxes on profit. Each time the money changed hands some was taken by the government. It’s a perpetual money machine for the government. Of course there was one person who probably didn’t report the money as income. 100% of her gains were put to use stimulating the local economy.

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