JOKE: The Economist Gets His Own Back
A man is flying solo in a hot air balloon and realises he is lost.
Spotting a man below he lowers the balloon and shouts, “Excuse me
sir, but can you help me? I promised my wife I would meet her half an
hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The man below says, “You are in a hot air balloon, hovering
approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 50 and 52
degrees N. Latitude, and between 62 and 64 degrees W. longitude”.
“You must be an economist,” says the balloonist.
“I am,” replies the man. “How did you know?”
“Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is
technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your
information, and the fact is I am still lost.”
The man below says, “You must be a politician.”
“I am,” replies the balloonist, “but how did you know?”
“Well,” says the man below, “you don’t know where you are, or
where you are going; you have made a promise which you have no idea how
to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in
exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now it is
somehow my fault.”
