Originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, May 23, 2005.

What makes a good comic? A smiling suppository, that's what. I drew a good comic this week.

Somewhere in between adequately funding the functions and services that benefit the greater public and just giving up and letting it all go to hell, lies a place where soul money is needed. Soul money is what fills the gap to keep schools functioning, to keep recreation departments operating, to keep cities working.

I call it soul money because the money can come two different ways: by investing your soul (bake sales, pledge drives, donations) or by selling your soul (naming rights, official sponsors, privatizing services). Ah! But don't think I'm making a judgment here. In many cases, I don't think selling your soul is any worse than investing it; it's just that you should be aware of what you're doing and when you're going too far.

In this week's comic, I'm simply sending a warning signal of what might be "too far." Grand Rapids is in a world of budget hurt, and leaders are scrambling for ways to plug holes and maintain services. They've decided to open only three of the six city pools this summer and are going to take advertisement money to make that happen. The public museum is going to be cut off from city funds over the next few years, and they have been encouraged to seek other sources for income. And so it goes....

It's sad, of course, but it's really no reason to criticize -- we've all sold out in some way. We accept semi-free basketball telecasts in exchange for enduring gawd-awful credit card commercials. In exchange for what we assume is a great deal, we let the auto dealership brand our cars with cheesy stickers. And if it subsidized the cost, we would very likely go around wearing a quality t-shirt with a smiling suppository on it.... I'm taking orders!