The Antitrust Hotch Potch: Antitrust Joke

Hereafter is what people in Bssls antitrust law firms joke about. In fact, it could perfectly well be a joke which circulates within the Commission itself.

"A man in a hot air balloon over the Belgian countryside realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am". The woman replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above the ground, between 40/41 degrees latitude, north, and 59/60 degrees west, longitude".

"You must be a middle-grade Commission Official", said the balloonist. "I am", replied the woman, "I'm a Grade A*8. How did you know?" "Well", answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct but I have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you have delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be a Senior Commission Official". "I am," replied the balloonist, "But how did you know?" "Well," replied the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problem. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault" .

The joke also applies to economists (L. Benzoni, a French economist, once made the same joke during a conference in Paris. He replaced the Commission official by an IO theorist and the balloonist by a lawyer). Here you go for the other version:

"A lawyer in a hot air balloon over realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am". The woman replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above the ground, between 40/41 degrees latitude, north, and 59/60 degrees west, longitude".

"You must be an antitrust economist", said the lawyer. "I am", replied the woman, "I hold a Phd from the MIT. How did you know?" "Well", answered the lawyer, "everything you told me is absolutely correct but I have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I am still lost".

Nicolas