One Day at the Bank Branch

A Short Tale by Charles Goyette

An old farmer walked into a rural branch of Washington Mutual to open a savings account. Being a conservative sort, he asked, “What happens if Washington Mutual goes broke?”

“Well,” said the branch manager, “in that case I suppose we’d be taken over by somebody like Chase Bank, and they’d make sure you got your money back.”

“But what happens,” asked the farmer, “if Chase goes broke?”

“In that case,” the manager answered, “you’d get your money back from the F.D.I.C.”

Not satisfied, the old farmer asked, “And if the F.D.I.C. doesn’t have enough money?”

“Then your money would be covered by the United States government.”

“And if the government is bankrupt?” he asked suspiciously.

“Then the Federal Reserve would just print you up some new worthless dollars.”

“But what if the Federal Reserve is finally put out of business?” asked the old man.

“Well, in that case, you’d lose all your money,” said the manager. “But really, wouldn’t it be worth it?”