On rates

A homeowner whose furnace broke down during a bitter cold snap called a repairman. The repairman came at once. Within half an hour, the furnace was working again. The repairman then gave the homeowner a bill for $200.

"What!" the outraged homeowner exclaimed. "It took you no time at all. All you did was replace one small part. How can you have the nerve to charge me $200 for a little gizmo that can't be worth more than five dollars?"

The repairman shrugged. "I charged you only two dollars for the broken part," he said. "That's what I had to pay for it."

The homeowner waved the bill in his face. "Two dollars!" he yelled. "This says $200!"

"That's right," the repairman said. "The other $198 is for knowing what was wrong and how to fix it."