A Somewhat Troubling Joke

(Editor’s Note: The following comes from a reader who, rightly, thinks it hits a little close to home.)

One Hundred Dollars 

 

It is the month of August, a resort town sits next to the shores of a lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.

He enters the only hotel, lays a $100 bill on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the pig raiser.

The pig raiser takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the town’s prostitute that in these hard times, gave her “services” on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the $100 bill to the hotel proprietor to cover the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms. He takes back his $100 bill, saying he doesn’t like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with great optimism — exactly how the United States government is doing business today.

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