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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Stimulus -- Just $99.99 While Supplies Last

Now I know for sure what Congress and the Obama administration think of us. Reports indicate that the "compromise" stimulus bill will be $789,000,000,000. Why that number? Because it's not $800,000,000,000. Whew, that makes me feel better. It's not $800 billion. I'll buy it.

Think I'm joking? Look at how AP reports the story:

House and Senate negotiators agreed to pare economic stimulus legislation below $800 billion and reached for a final deal with the White House on Wednesday on a bill designed to create millions of jobs in a nation reeling from recession.
The NY Times repeats the theme:

Congressional negotiators appeared on Wednesday to be near an agreement on an economic stimulus plan of just under $800 billion, and the pace of the talks suggested that the final legislation could be passed by the Senate and House and on President Obama’s desk by the end of the week.

There are some deep psychological games going on whenever items are priced just below the next large round number, as in $99.99. People actually study this stuff. But you don't need to be a psychologist, or even to read the studies. I'll give you the answer:
They think we're stupid.
Posted by William A. Jacobson at 1:37 PM

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2009 at 2:11 PM

    They think we're stupid? I guess they're not as stupid as we thought they were.

    ReplyDelete

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