Three contractors were bidding to fix a broken fence at the U.S. Capital.  The first contractor told the Congressman, “I figure the job will run about $900.  That’s $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.”

The second contractor announced, “I can do this job for $700.  That’s $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.”

The third contractor leaned over to the Congressman and whispered, “$2700.”

The incredulous lawmaker asked him, “How did you come up with such a high figure?”

The contractor smiled and said, “$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the second guy to fix the fence.”

More Funny Stuff

White House officials say that President Obama will sign the $410 billion omnibus spending bill to keep key government agencies funded in 2009.  The bill contains nearly 9,000 earmarks totaling tens of billions of dollars.  Congressional members use earmarks to direct funding to unrelated pet projects.

During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to end wasteful spending, with a focus on reducing or eliminating earmarks altogether.  Many lawmakers including some key Democrats have urged Obama to veto the bill to prove he’s serious about cutting pork.

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The Congress has just passed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  This is the largest single spending bill in our nation’s history.  The goal of the bill is to invest in key areas that will save or create jobs immediately, while also laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth.

The government has launched a website Recovery.gov that lets you — the taxpayer – see where your money is going.  The site provides this chart that summarizes the financial distribution:

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