Three contractors are bidding to fix the
White House fence.
One from Chicago, another from Dallas,
and the third from Fort Lauderdale.
They go with a White House official
to examine the fence.

The Fort Lauderdale contractor takes out a
tape measure and does some measuring,
then gets out his calculator, punches in some
numbers and says,
"Well, I figure the job will run about $900:
$400 for material, $400 for my crew,
and $100 profit for me."

The Dallas contractor steps up, takes some
measurements, does some figuring, then says,
"I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials,
$300 for my crew and $100 profit for me."

The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or figure,
but leans over to the White House official and whispers: "$2,700."

The official says,
You didn't even measure like the other guys!
How did you come up with such a high figure?"

"Easy," the Chicagoan explains, "$1,000 for you,
$1,000 for me, and we hire the guy from Dallas."