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Originally published in
the Grand Rapids Business Journal, February 14, 2005.
You know what a good word is? Surly. Surly is
a good word. It means "crabby," "foul," "irritably
sullen and churlish in mood or manner." When I think of "surly" I
think of when I was a student and having a test on a subject
that I wasn't fond of. I'd put off studying and put off studying
until I absolutely had to. I'd get angry at myself for waiting
so long and making it a pressure situation. That would combine
with a feeling of general resentment and a late, late night
to create... surly.
I bring this up because I had to gather income tax information
over the weekend. It really shouldn't have been a big deal.
It's not like we have loads of complicated investments or exotic
income sources. I do have business stuff to account for, but
I've been doing that for five years now, so I pretty much know
what I need to do. No, it was a painful experience only because
over the course of 2004 I didn't do the simple things, like
reconcile the checkbooks monthly. I should have. I know I should
have. But, geez, who wants to harsh their mellow on a beautiful
summer night reconciling a checkbook?
Of course yesterday it was quite a different line of thinking.
And in my surliness, some really questionable ideas came my
way:
* I should designate one night a month to do finances and
no matter what -- if the kids are out catching fireflies, if
friends stop by for a drink on the back patio, if Jane wants
to make-out on the tire swing -- I will do the finances!....
* I should just estimate everything and then if I get audited,
I can do the real numbers. I mean, what are the chances of
being audited?...
* It's high time the children get a lesson on how much it
sucks to be an adult. There's no reason why they can't do this
for me....
And it just so happens that "questionable ideas" is
the theme of this week's comic. Panel one refers to a Michigan
company that recently got national media attention for sacking
employees who smoke (on the job or off). Panel two refers to
Michigan Governor Granholm's plan to jumpstart the economy
by selling $2 billion in state bonds to finance infrastructure
projects that are targeted at growing high-tech industry. Panel
three refers to the proposed Bush budget that cuts block grants
to cities (which fund all sorts or programs aimed at lower
income folks) by more that 50% because all of the sudden it's
important to balance the federal budget deficit.
What's the old cliché? Desperate times call for desperate
measures. Yes, I'd agree with that. And I'd also say that an
idea being questionable doesn't necessarily make it a bad one.
But if the reason you're desperate is because of your own actions,
you should consider loosening the grip on your throat.
But realistically, I think President Bush would only applaud
me when I say, "I don't have to think about finances again
for a whole year! WooHoo!!!"
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