August 25, 2018 Randy Schultz The Sun Sentinel

 August 25, 2018

Randy Schultz

The Sun Sentinel

RE: Addendum, not erratum, to my “rant” of 8/23/18 about the Broward Board of Education spending new tax dollars “responsibly”.

Mr. Schultz,

You say, with nary a hint of irony, sarcasm, or a nod to sardonicism that “most voters don’t distinguish between operating expenses and capital expenses”. There is, of course, the modern American Liberal genetic predisposition to looking down on the deplorable pieces of shit who make up the “lesser breeds” of the American electorate. 

I am a voter and, yes, I can distinguish between the two.

 In my other life I was the CFO of a public company so I became biblically familiar with the impedimenta of 10Ks. Signing them causes one to concentrate fully on the consequences. Also, I was General Partner and Tax Managing Partner of 7 distinct partnerships. They did not require 10Ks but had to have certified statements. A layman’s definition of them was simple: If it took more than 2 paragraphs for the accountants to explain what they were opining on it was like a fart in church. Please note that I did not use the more offensive “turd in a punch bowl”.

I am quite sure that you, as the paradigmatic template of an ink stained POOmAL, that’s real-world shorthand for Perpetually Outraged and Offended modern American Liberal, and as such you are genetically repelled by husbandry of any sort wretch, you should feel feel ill at ease when things such as retained earnings, ROIC, recapture, and loss-carry forward are mentioned. 

It’s OK because as Inspector Callahan said, “It’s a wise man who knows his limitations.”

Anyway, your elitist scorn must extend to B of E aparatchiks.

In 1997 I presented myself to the public information window of the Broward Board of Education seeking a copy of the proposed budget. I was told that none was available but the earnest bureaucrat in training offered me a pie chart.

It fell to me to explain, using only declarative sentences, short, simple declarative sentences, the difference between capital items and expense items. Sensing that my excellent tutorial was bringing on the MEGO – My Eyes Glaze Over – look I switch to a full-bore version of Ockham’s Razor.

“The kitchen of every school in Broward County has at least one large shiny metal box. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 of them. They are called refrigerators and because they are expected to have a use life of at least 3 years they are called capital items. Inside the box you can find small boxes filled with milk, with juice, with yogurt, with environmentally sensitive other diverse things. Since they have a shelf life of considerably less than 3 years, they are called expense items.”

I asked her if she thought I was going too fast.

Since bureaucrats – “flack catchers”, no? – can take anything but contempt, she was angry. And apparently, they have stayed angry through 4 Presidents and 4 Governors.

Since these loutish churls think that the money they spend is theirs I wouldn’t trust them any farther than I could fling any of those shiny metal boxes in the kitchen.

Kevin Smith

WARRIORBARDIT@BELLSOUTH.NET