My friend Ted Levy sent me the following story:

I’m walking through a local Phoenix mall and pass a kiosk for Rosetta Stone, the language-learning software. There’s a sign indicating $125 off each course. I ask the woman manning the kiosk, “Is this a discount price over an internet purchase?” She responds, “Where do you live?” I indicate I live locally. She says, “Why would you want to support the Virginia economy [I gather this is where Rosetta Stone is headquartered] rather than our local Phoenix economy? It’s the same price either way, but don’t you want to keep the money here?”

I told her she made a good point and asked her where in Phoenix she lived? She told me she lived in the Biltmore area. I sighed and explained that was too bad since I lived in the Arcadia area, and wanted to help support the Arcadian economy.

She looked at me like I was crazy. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident…

I’m guessing that virtually every reader sees what’s wrong with her reasoning, but just in case, see this.