It's a slow day in a small Midwestern town. The sun is beating down, and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from back east is driving through town.
He stops at a hotel and lays a $100 bill on the desk, saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs, in order to pick one in which to spend the night.
As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill, and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.
The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and pays his debt to a traveling hardware salesman who happens to be in town.
The salesman rushes to the hotel and pays off his room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter, so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything.
However, the whole town is now out of debt, and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today
He stops at a hotel and lays a $100 bill on the desk, saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs, in order to pick one in which to spend the night.
As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill, and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.
The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and pays his debt to a traveling hardware salesman who happens to be in town.
The salesman rushes to the hotel and pays off his room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter, so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything.
However, the whole town is now out of debt, and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today
