That suit fits him perfectly!

I received a copy of the book Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar… by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein today as a gift. I haven’t read through the book in awhile. I found the ‘Tale of the tailor’ to be instructive as well as amusing given the topics we have been discussing concerning the issue of economics. Sometimes it feels discussions go this way:

A man tries on a made-to-order suit and says to the tailor, “I need this sleeve taken in! It’s two inches too long!”
The tailor says, “No, just bend your elbow like this. See, it pulls up the sleeve.”
The man says, “Well, okay, but now look at the collar! When I bend my elbow, the collar goes halfway up the back of my head.”
The tailor says, “So? Raise your head up and back. Perfect.”
The man says, “But now the left shoulder is three inches lower than the right one!”
The tailor says, “No problem. Bend at the waist way over to the left and it evens out.”
The man leaves the store wearing the suit, his right elbow cooked and sticking out, his head up and back, all the while leaning down to the left. The only way he can walk is with a herky-jerky spastic gait.

Just then two passersby notice him.
Says the first, “Look at that poor crippled guy. My heart goes out to him.”
Says the second, “Yeah, but his tailor must be a genius! That suit fits him perfectly!”

If we were wiser think of the things we could accomplish! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.