Abbott and Costello Remastered

    

Abbott and Costello

 

 

     This artful parody appeared in email on the Internet in February 2012, or earlier. It has continued to circulate because of its subject matter and humorous content. In addition, an extra line--the last line--was added since it first appeared.
     Greg Mankiw, chairman of the department of economics at Harvard, posted it in his blog on February 25, 2012. It was sent to him by Allen Sanderson, a senior lecturer in the economics department at the University of Chicago.
     The parody is a remake of the original Abbott and Costello routine about baseball: Who's on first? Creative substitutions were made in the rewrite. The author's identity is unknown.



Costello: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
Abbott: Good subject. Terrible times. It's 8.3%.
Costello: That many people are out of work?
Abbott: No, that's 16%.
Costello: You said 8.3%.
Abbott: 8.3% unemployed.
Costello: Right 8.3% out of work.
Abbott: No, that's 16%.
Costello: Okay, so it's 16% unemployed.
Abbott: No, that's 8.3%...
Costello: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 8.3% or 16%?
Abbott: 8.3% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
Costello: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
Abbott: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
Costello: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!
Abbott: No, you miss my point.
Costello: What point?
Abbott: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
Costello: To whom?
Abbott: The unemployed.
Costello: But they are ALL out of work.
Abbott: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
Costello: So if you're off the unemployment rolls, that would count as less employment?
Abbott: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
Costello: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
Abbott: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 8.3%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don't want to read about 16% unemployment, do ya?
Costello: That would be frightening.
Abbott: Absolutely.
Costello: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
Abbott: Two ways is correct.
Costello: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
Abbott: Correct.
Costello: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
Abbott: Bingo.
Costello: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
Abbott: Now you're thinking like an economist.
Costello: I don't even know what I just said.
Abbott: Now you're thinking like a politician.

References:
Examiner
Greg Mankiw's Blog  --On Mankiw's blog, please click on Monkeys reject equal pay, a YouTube video featuring Emory University Professor Frans deWaal, a primatologist.