To the Editor:
Every child knows which parent to approach for permission to do something risky, expensive, inappropriate, or too impractical. The parent who says “No” is called “mean”, “uncaring“, “selfish”, etc.
Some marriages have problems because over-spending threatens financial disaster, e.g., eviction, inability to purchase real needs like food and health insurance. Sometimes one spouse stands up to avoid the disaster, slashes expenses, sells expensive toys, cancels unessential services, etc. Family members enjoying the excess spending may call these cuts “extreme” and the responsible parent “mean”, “uncaring“, “selfish”, etc.
Across our country city, state, and federal governments have recklessly over-spent and over-committed future spending.
Inspiration comes in strange places. Dots connect, ideas coalesce, thoughts combine. These kinds of events are most common for me in circumstances where it is almost impossible to write them down. I often get revelations driving and have to pull over to write them down. But the other morning it was in the shower.