All this recent talk about budgets, balancing them, corruption, money loss, bankruptcy and debt induced suicide got me to thinking about budgets in general. Recently, as in today, I was chatting via Google Chat with my niece regarding her seemingly endless debt when I brought up the notion of making a budget. Turns out she listened to me a few weeks ago when I suggested it then, but struggled to make a meaningful one that would truly assist her in planning her financial future. Consequently, I offered my assistance in the matter and have subsequently built a simple worksheet using Google’s online share-able spreadsheet system(no this is not a Google Focussed Blog-Ad, although if Google wants to pay me to write one we here at BlinkinBlogs can surely use the cash).

While working on said spreadsheet a few things occurred to me:

1. If most people that I know have a difficult time making a simple budget then how in the hell are governments doing so?
2. Given number 1, how the hell do governments deal in the vast amounts of cash and expenditures that they need to track?!?
3. How are audits done on Governments that act as umbrellas for collections of smaller Governments that in turn house even smaller Governments?!?!?!? (country->state->city)
4. Why am I working on my niece’s budget when she is nowhere to be found!!??!
5. How the hell did I expect a 19 year old to give even the slightest bit of what might look like interest in her own financial future beyond “I need some more money Uncs!”!?!?

Anyway, in all seriousness, GlazedNConfused and I have been talking about budgets recently and how they, and those that write, manage, and especially audit them, have lead not only local and state governments to the brink of disaster but also The Country as well. In doing so we neglected to touch on the idea of just HOW these people create and balance the budget. Instead of explaining it in the rather ridiculous fashion I had planned, utilizing primarily images of hand puppets and those little gold colored-alluminum covered chocolate coins, I will direct your attention to this fellow.

Good luck understanding it. If you can, perhaps you should try to get a job helping out those other folks that work for the government – they seem to have a rather difficult time getting it done.