Pessimism is fashionable these days. With financial systems across the globe on the brink of collapse and the word “recession” firmly part of the 2009 economic vocabulary, who can blame anyone? Alas for me, though, I am an incurable optimist. Maybe, I should just tattoo “dum spiro, spero” (while I breathe, I hope) across my forehead. Not only would it alert everyone about my generally non-pessimistic take on things, but the use of a Latin phrase might stand me in good with that part of the legal community here that believes a hallmark of a good lawyer is a working knowledge of Latin. Sadly, that’s about the entire extent of my Latin.
As I am not fond of needles, no such thing is likely to happen. However, more likely to happen is that even the most pessimistic person will find a reason for a dose of good cheer this week.
Tuesday marked the swearing-in of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. For the cynical, the good cheer might arise from the simple fact that given the way things are right now, it can only get better. Personally, I’m hoping that President Obama and his advisors will be the right team at the right time. As this is a non-partisan column, however, enough said.
Closer to home, we’ll soon be able to get rid of all that extra verbiage in contracts about paying “the Polish zloty equivalent of [pick your currency].” Yes, after Saturday, January 24, in Poland it will be possible just to set the price in a contract in Euros, Dollars, Franks or whatever other currency you want. You can even pay in foreign currency. It’s probably not terribly practical for buying milk and eggs at your local store, but can be crucial for large contracts.
--Judith Y. Gliniecki
