Unexpected opportunities

It is beyond discussion that the pandemic has upended our lives and forced us to adjust to the new normal. In our case, this means spending a lot time at home, for the kids sometimes a week or two in a stretch, because they are still doing homeschooling. Luckily we have a house big enough that we can have (mostly) separate rooms, so as not to interfere with one another, and yet get together for lunch, which is a daily occasion that I still treasure.

But besides the meals, it so happens that Trevor and I have our "offices" upstairs, so he ends up popping in for questions every now and then, which is terrible for my work performance, but very instructive to peek into his mind. This morning he came looking for help for his politics class: he was to assume that the county was going through some financial trouble and has to choose among five different measures to try to get in the black:

• Increase the taxes on the local companies
• Delay the refurbishment of the grass in the sports field
• Reduce the opening hours in the public library
• Increase the taxes on dog owners
• Delay the upgrade of the concert hall
  

I was initially tempted to just give him my suite of preferred solutions, but then I realized that I did not have anything urgent to do at work and decided to take it up on the teaching opportunity. My  first question was how many people would be (negatively) affected by each of the measures, and he pointed out that dog taxes and library hours were bound to affect the most people. The delays in the upgrades in principle do not prevent the facilities from being used, other than the slight further deterioration, and the taxes to the companies would only affect a few people.

Photo: QuoteInspector

Then we went on to consider the social position of the people affected by the measures, and Trevor correctly pointed out that rich people do not use the public library or, if they do, they do not have to, because they can afford paying for the books. He also figured out that there are dog owners in all ranges of income, so that imposing a tax would hurt the poor much more than the rich.

In the end he settled on delaying the refurbishments (as long as it did not became a permanent delay) and increase the taxation on the local companies only if the economy was flourishing, because that is when taxation hurts the least. The endearing moment came when he admitted that he had come full with dread about the homework but in the end had enjoyed the exchange with me a lot. I could only concur that the activity had been quite interesting, and assured him that he was welcome to talk anytime he needed to.

There have been a lot of hardships in the last months, and many still endure, but the new situation has also brought interesting new opportunities which my restless mind cannot avoid exploring. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot with the golden prize of a situation like today's, that I will cherish for years to come. So please, keep an eye out and a vigilant mind, because you never know where a nice situation is lurking in the shadows, providing an unexpected opportunity for discovery and enjoyment. Have a nice evening.