Taking Action Against Inefficiency
From an article on Bloomberg.com:
Oct. 2 — Brazil’s Federal District Governor Jose Roberto Arruda “fired” the present participle from his administration, citing inefficiency.
That, my friends, is good and effective governance. Mr. Arruda has identified the problem, come up with a solution, and taken swift action to implement that solution. Besides, we don’t need that particular part of the language anyway.
On the other hand, I have to admit that in my job I’ve used exactly that trick before. “Yes, Mr. Smith, we’re aware of the problems. The network guys are working on it right now.” I hope the college administration doesn’t follow Mr. Arruda, or I’ll lose a valuable weapon from my arsenal to ward off clients asking questions.
I get a picture of a cartoon-figure “-ndo,” in a rumpled linen suit, sitting dejectedly in a hiring agency’s office whilst a very efficient, pencil skirt-clad lady with a clipboard says, “I’m sorry, we can’t help inefficient verb forms. Perhaps you might try MacDonalds or Starbucks. . . . ?”