What goes around...

[empip]

It is a slow day in a damp little Irish town. The rain 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 German tourist is driving through the town.

He stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers’ Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him “services” on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, 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 looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

Been around a bit that one, but this THIS is worth a peruse.

-0-

 

[Mickymoody]

Ireland built a £80 million pound motorway.

They were in debt for £80 million pounds.

The UK Govenment bails out Ireland £80 million pounds,

The cuts to the UK are £80 million pounds.

A very sad parody...

 

[cantaloup63]

par·o·dy
   [par-uh-dee] Show IPA noun, plural -dies, verb, -died, -dy·ing.
noun
1. a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.
2. the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.
3. a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.
4. any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.
5. the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass).

Therefore, please could you identify the original of which your work is a parody ? I'd love to read the context in which it was written

 

[JohnD]

the funny story is based on a misunderstanding of debt, liquidity, and net worth.

If I owe you £100 and you owe me £100, we both have a net worth of zero. If I give you £100 to repay my debt, and you give it back to me to repay your debt, we still have a net worth of zero.

If all the people in your story had made out a balance sheet, it would have included £100 debtors, and £100 creditors. Settling them both does not make you any better off, but it does make you feel better, especially if you have doubts about your debtor's ability to pay.

The Economic Miracle (Wirtschaftswunder) that happened in Germany was almost entirely based on confidence in the Deutschmark.

Lack of confidence in a currency can lead to an awful economic collapse.

 

[zanwan]

interesting.

People should simply learn to live within their means. If you have the money for the luxuries in life, go out and get them. If not, work to earn the money.

Living within your means will make your life a lot less stressful.

 

[cantaloup63]

By definition we're doomed. All we do is recycle money between us with a bit of wastage at each stage.

For example, a waiter get paid and gets some extra in tips (no pun for you there Naz ). He pays his bills, does some shopping etc and then goes to a restaurant for a bite to eat and gives the waiter a tip. Now that waiter does the same...etc etc etc. Recycle and waste

 

[geraint]

By definition we're doomed. All we do is recycle money between us with a bit of wastage at each stage.

For example, a waiter get paid and gets some extra in tips (no pun for you there Naz ). He pays his bills, does some shopping etc and then goes to a restaurant for a bite to eat and gives the waiter a tip. Now that waiter does the same...etc etc etc. Recycle and waste

I have seen some comments on here that make me laugh...

jesus melon.... Well done....

 

[krisdorey]

Where's the waste assuming we have an infinite amount of waiters.

 

[JohnD]

A very sad parody...

How is that a spelling mistake?