Taken from Forward This! Blog

Three contractors are bidding to fix the White House fence. One from
the Philippines, another from Mexico and an American. They go with a
White House official to examine the fence.

The American contractor takes out a tape measure and does some
measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well”, he says,
“I’ll figure out the job will run about $900:  $400 for materials, $400
for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Mexican contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then
says, “I can do $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100
profit for me.

The Filipino contractor does not measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers:  “$2,700.”

The White House official, incredulous says, “What? You did not even
measure like the other guys!  How did you come up with such a high
figure?  How do you expect me to consider your service with that bid.”

“Easy”, the Pinoy explains, “$1,000 for you, $1,000 for me and we hire the guy from Mexico”.

The next day the Pinoy got the contract.