Droplets of water
I read earlier today about Citibank's new $50 million dollar luxury, executive jet. In light of their recent $45 billion dollar bailout this is particularly outlandish. But then I realized that big companies - just like our government - lose touch with reality because they deal with such big numbers all the time. They get desensitized to what those numbers mean.
$50 million is is only about 1/1000 of $45 billion. So this would be like me taking out a loan for $1000 and then blowing $1 on a giant Snickers bar I don't need at the checkout line. When you look at the scale, it's just not that much in comparison. But there is a factor these CEOs (and members of congress, and the president) forget. Scale works both ways.
When you're the little guy, the average Joe or Jane, you're a lot like a tiny little ant to these people. And like an ant at a picnic, those crumbs of bread or spilled bit of water left behind means nothing to the big, scary people, but could very well mean survival to the ant. What is virtually nothing to a CEO or president is almost unimaginable to us. And this is what is wrong with the numbers. When Citibank tries to play down that 1/1000 slice of a $45 billion dollar pie, it's not what it means to them that is important - it's what it means to us. This is a lesson congress and our new president should reflect carefully on.