A guy walks into the local welfare office, marches straight up to the counter and says, "Hi. You know, I just HATE drawing welfare. I'd really rather have a job."

The social worker behind the counter says, "Your timing is excellent. We just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a chauffeur and bodyguard for his beautiful daughter. You'll have to drive around in his Mercedes, and he'll supply all of your clothes. Because of the long hours, meals will be provided. You'll be expected to escort the daughter on her overseas holiday trips and you will have to satisfy her sexual urges. You'll be provided a two-bedroom apartment above the garage. The salary is $200,000 a year."

The guy, wide-eyed, says, "You're bull****tin' me!"

The social worker says, "Yeah, well... you started it."

I've heard a similar joke with the same punchline, but it makes me sad to see it here. There really are out-of-work people who'd like to have a job. One of my gripes with capitalism (even the regulated capitalism like we have here in the US) is that you have these rich blokes up top who are obligated to make more money for the shareholders so they cut jobs down below in the name of efficiency. I'm not saying we should go for full-blown, Russian-style, communist inefficiency. I would, however, tolerate just a little inefficiency if it meant 1) everybody who wanted a job could have one and 2) we were comparable to the rest of the world in hours worked per week and weeks worked per year. Americans work ourselves to death.