Long Term Value

So this evening, I went though various receipts, totaled up invoices paid, did some data entry into a spreadsheet, and looked at the total. Two hundred and seventy three euro.

Tomorrow morning then, I will post off a cheque to the revenue commissioners, payment due for VAT collected over the last few months.

I wrote the cheque, put it in an envelope, filed away the various books, diaries, and receipts littered on my desk. But before I shut down the computer, I decided to pop a couple more figures into the spreadsheet, since it was open.

If my income and expenditure patterns stay the same, it turns out I’d have to work for fifty million years to pay back the money the government plans to pour into NAMA.

On the other hand, perhaps I could increase my income by billing clients for it’s long term economic value. That should be good for another 15%. And of course, no man is an island, and every man woman and child in this country is responsible for the NAMA bill. That’s good news, as it means that I won’t be working for fifty million years.

Ten thousand years should about do it.

By Gerard Cunningham

Gerard Cunningham occupies his time working as a journalist, writer, sub-editor, blogger and podcaster, yet still finds himself underemployed.