This morning, I had two things to do. The first was to take the boy to get an impacted baby tooth extracted. The tooth, which was impeding the straightening work of his braces, had to go, and even though the boy was nervous because the guy doing the extracting has “surgeon” in his title, he sucked it up and went through the procedure with a local anesthetic (versus being put to sleep – his original request). There is a complicated high finance deal that accompanies this story, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
The second thing I had to do this morning was understand the Geithner banking proposal. I attempted both these feats simultaneously in that way that moms do most things – which is to say that both endeavors may have suffered ever so slightly from my somewhat divided attention. Still, the boy’s tooth is gone and I believe I have a (slippery, tenuous) grasp on the administration’s proposal. So here, for your benefit, a handy essay comparing and contrasting the boy’s tooth extraction and Geithner’s plan to shore up the banks, get credit flowing, and save our entire economic system.
Ready? (C’mon, be brave, little buckeroo.)
Okay, so when the nice surgeon explained the procedure a few weeks ago, the boy decided he was having none of it and wanted to be put to sleep, waking up from the whole thing as if from a dream. (Compare the boy’s reaction to mine when I consider the pain of an ongoing global economic crisis: I wish for the “it was all a dream” ending every time I lay me down to sleep.)
Alas, putting the boy to sleep, as it turns out, costs more than the actual extraction, $400 on top of the $300 impacted-tooth excavation fee. I know! Zoikes! So, while it is true that I’m a mush-ball of a mom, it is also true that I’m irrationally afraid of sinking below the poverty line, and money (or its lack) is a powerful motivator. I did a quick calculation and offered the boy $50 if he could get through the procedure with just a local anesthetic. (Hey, stop it, this is as economic essay not a lesson in responsible parenting.) I saved 50 percent on this deal, the surgeon is happy, the boy is happy, and the braces are, I’m sure, making him even more stunningly handsome as I type.
Okay, so, you know the Geithner proposal? It’s exactly the same, where surgeon = investment banker, braces = channels of credit, and impacted baby tooth = scary toxic assets.
There.
You’re welcome! ;-)
Wild
and if that doesn’t work, there’s always plan b – have all the surgeons extract all the investment bankers. ;-)
congratulations on your investment in one impacted tooth. the $50 bonus fee was well worth it. i hope the boy is doing well, too.
Yes, thank you. Really!
I have been trying to get a handle on how this latest proposal is supposed to work. In fact, I have been worried and trying to understand all of these issues for months now.
What I also figured out, is that it’s best to take a little time out of each day to think good thoughts or laugh, just to push the worries back, at least enough to see your way through to the next day.
You do that…give us a moment to laugh.
Thanks for that. Keep it up!
And on parenting…
I suspect your are 50% of a most EXCELLENT responsible parenting team!
cmw
jb, thank you! the boy is great – no meds necessary. he’s a stud!
smile, wow. thank you for that.
cmw, ;-)