Thinking of tomorrow, Today...

Yet another article in the paper about the misuse of one of the government credit card programs by an employee. I was getting ready to type in that I don’t understand why it is that an employee would just abuse the government credit card by purchasing frivolous things that clearly don’t have anything to do with their job or responsibility. But is it really that different than one’s personal credit card? You whip out your credit card and make impulsive purchases that you clearly don’t really need, and can’t afford to pay for at the end of the billing month. Most people don’t think about the financial repercussions of their purchase until their bill comes in the mail. Even then, they don’t really have to think about it all that hard, because they have the option of making the minimum payment, which is much more affordable. They can just make that payment, file the bill away as being “paid”, charge up more items, and then start the whole cycle over again when the bill comes in the mail. It’s a great game of avoidance mixed with hide and seek. I don’t think those government employees thought that they’d get caught. I think they thought that their credit card bill was one of thousands, and they figured that they’d worry about it when the bill came at the end of the month.

Too bad credit card companies don’t send you daily statements by text-message or email that would remind you of where you stand today. If more people thought of their tomorrows… today… how different would their worlds be?

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When is enough ENOUGH?

Another trusted official seemingly walked down an unsavory path and is now paying the price today for their actions. Today, the HUD Secretary Jackson resigned because of his alleged participation in a scandal that involved money. I don’t pretend to know all of the details of the situation, or what is true and what is not. This story is not unlike many of the other stories that have surfaced in recent years with the same theme. It’s a story of people not being satisfied with what they have, and instead of working within the constraints of the law and moral ethics, make the decision to bypass those things in an attempt to gain or profit (at times, at someone else’s expense). A list containing the names of those people is too long to write down here. What I’d be more interested in learning about is where that whole mentality comes from, and why some folks think that it’s okay to circumvent the laws that the rest of us rely on to guide our behavior?

What message are we sending to our young people by participating in such activities? It’s the same thing as trying to tell your child not to smoke as you yourself are taking a puff of a cigarette. Is it really effective to in a sense tell your child “do as I say, not as I do”? According to Mr. Jackson’s biography on the HUD website, he and his wife have two grown daughters. It is my hope that the next generation of potential leaders that are the offspring of these fallen leaders will not do as they have seen done.