budget
A budget is a box that squeezes infinite organizational desires into finite numbers. Merely listing figures becomes a spell that can summon purchases and shift blame at will. Occasionally, figures disconnected from reality dance on paper, eliciting cold sweats from managers. At the fiscal year end, everyone must perform the tearful ritual of drafting reduction proposals, knowing how absurd it is. Finally, swearing "next year for sure," they inexorably return to the same eternal cycle.