A light-bulb goes off
President elect Barack Obama in his December 7, 2008, video address:
Today, I am announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.
The brilliance of taking the economy out of its post-bubble rubble by changing light bulbs reminds me the episode of The Simpsons where Marge Simpson goes looking for entrepreneurial opportunities and finds a huckster who has one:
Now, folks, I don’t wanna alarm ya, but scientists say forty percent of America’s pictures… are hanging crooked.
[the audience gasp in shock]
Yep, it’s true. And I hear you asking: “Well, who’s gonna straighten out all these artistic abominations?” Your friends? A neighbor? Those fat cats at Washington? [chuckles] Good luck. Hey, you know, maybe no one’ll notice! Maybe the problem will ju-u-u-st fix itself.
I guess the fat cats in Washington will finally take care of the problem, putting “people back to work” in the process.
