cookies
Explanation
The Joke
The comic shows what appears to be a Girl Scout (or similar youth cookie seller) presenting a business proposition: she is prepared to deliver fourteen tons of coconut pinwheels on February 20th for ten grand, to be paid on delivery. A man asks what this is about, wondering if the Girl Scouts discovered the recipe and drove down the price.
The girl responds that "those peasants" are someone who should count their blessings, and asks if they have a deal or if she needs to find a buyer with some backbone. The caption below reads: "It was a mistake to let the Girl Scouts sell futures contracts."
The Humor
The joke takes the familiar institution of Girl Scout cookie sales -- typically a wholesome activity involving children going door-to-door -- and reimagines it as a cutthroat commodities trading operation. The girl is not selling boxes of cookies; she is selling futures contracts, promising delivery of enormous quantities at a set price on a future date. Her aggressive, Wall Street trader demeanor ("Do we have a deal or do I need to find a buyer with some backbone?") is hilariously incongruous with the image of a child selling cookies. The caption''s understated observation that this was "a mistake" suggests someone actually authorized this, and only now realizes the consequences of giving children access to financial derivatives markets.
References
A futures contract is a standardized financial agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future. Futures markets are a major part of commodities trading (for goods like wheat, oil, and livestock) and are known for their aggressive, high-stakes culture. Girl Scout Cookies are a well-known American institution where young girls sell cookies door-to-door as a fundraiser. The comic merges these two worlds for absurd effect.