Opinion: The free holiday haircut: A congressional parable

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Here’s a story making the rounds of the Internet that we wanted to share on this holiday weekend. It may help explain -- or illustrate -- the abysmally low approval ratings of Congress in these days of both high deficits and unemployment rates:

One day a florist went to get a haircut. After the trim, he asked how much he owed. The barber replied, ‘I can’t accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’

The florist was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen roses waiting at his shop door.

Later, a police officer came in for a haircut. When he tried to pay his bill, the barber again responded, ‘I can’t accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The officer too was pleased.

The next morning when the barber went to open, he found a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen donuts waiting at his shop door.
That afternoon a member of Congress came in for a haircut.

When he went to pay, the barber repeated, ‘I can’t accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’

The congressman was very happy as his driver took him back to Capitol Hill.

The next morning, when the barber went to open the barber shop, there waiting at his shop door were a dozen congressmen looking for a free haircut.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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