The company I work for is having great tightness in the budget area (quelle surprise!) and we have been holding marathon meetings as a result.

So far, not much new has been unearthed. This is the third budget crisis that I can remember; each time we have resurrected the old recommendations to cut costs. Each time they have been designated too politically controversial to present to the board of directors. Each time they have languished in the folder of the file cabinet under the heading of "Too Cowardly to Sunshine".

The first time we developed these plans to trim costs and save money, the whole team put in feverish hours of work, with many marathon sessions, all hands on board. The subsequent times we were all vividly aware that the political will was lacking--too many people realizing that the messenger will be shot, or at the very least would kiss his/her future promotion good-bye--and so the exercise was a waste of time, done for appearances' sake only.

Today was no different. The newbies worked diligently, we old fogies put in a guest appearance, speaking up when the logic was faulty or the information lacking, but otherwise keeping quiet. Why spoil the fun by pointing out that the Emperor has no clothes? That the chances are that budgets will once again be trimmed by employee layoffs and furloughs, not by cutting and trimming popular products or privately managed fiefdoms.

'Twas ever thus.