|
|
Reader question:
What does “Plan B” mean, as in this headline: “‘Do it yourself’ is free
trade’s best ‘Plan B’”?
My comments:
“Plan B” refers to an alternative to the original plan – something to fall
back upon when the original plan fails. Or to use a business term, it’s a
“contingency plan”, contingency referring to something unpredictable (and
undesirable) that may happen in future, causing disruptions to your original
plan.
In short, Plan B is your second option. Obviously, Plan B alludes to Plan
A, the first option, the ideal course of action to take. However, “Plan A” is
not as popular an idiom as Plan B. And that perhaps has something to do with the
popularity of a contraceptive pill.
Plan B, you see, is also a trade mark, the name of the popular emergency
contraceptive pill which was approved by American Food and Drug Administration
as a prescription contraceptive in 1999. Anyone over the age of 18 can buy them
over the counter (in other words, easily) in many cities in the United
States.
Taken orally, Plan B is “a progestin-only emergency contraceptive designed
to prevent pregnancy within 72 hours after a contraceptive accident or
unprotected sex” (Medterms.com) – hence the name, and quite an apt name it is
too.
Anyways, with the economy veering towards global recession, more and people
are talking about Plan Bs, and usually without mentioning Plan As – presumably
having long been thrown out the window.
The moral? Don’t get too excited about planning ahead, lest you may end up
with nothing but a bunch of changed plans.
Or Plan Bs.
Joking aside, here are media examples:
1. General Motors Corp., asking for as much as $18 billion to keep afloat
and survive even worse economic storms, painted the direst portrait to date of
what could happen if Congress doesn't quickly step in.
“There isn’t a Plan B,” said Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.
"Absent support, frankly, the company just can't fund its operations." Without
help, the company warned, “the company will default in the near term, very
likely precipitating a total collapse of the domestic industry and its extensive
supply chain, with a ripple effect that will have severe, long-term consequences
to the U.S. economy.”
- Ford tells Congress it may be able to go it alone, AP, December 2,
2008.
2. PREPARATIONS for the 2010 Soccer World Cup are well on schedule and the
reported “plan B” is dead, Danny Jordaan, CEO of the local organizing committee,
said yesterday.
“You didn’t call a funeral, but I know plan B is dead,” said Jordaan of
reports that the event might be moved to Australia.
- World Cup ‘plan B’ is dead, Businessday.co.za, December 11, 2008.
3. The economy is not just affecting people who are already out of work;
those who are worried their jobs might be in jeopardy also are experiencing
sleeplessness, compromised immune systems, irritability and other precursors to
depression.
The best advice Brady said is todevise a “Plan B.” By figuring out a plan
of action, if you are out of work or think you could be, an action plan can help
people feel more in control of their lives.
“Many times if people can start to implement what Plan B is, you don’t have
that gerbil on a spinning wheel situation, because you are moving a little bit
into an action stage, even if you don’t have to implement it,” he said. “Just
knowing precisely what it is, allows the mind to slow down enough to enjoy
staying in the present.”
- To combat depression, devise a Plan B, The Pulse-Journal, December 11,
2008. |
|
发表于 2016-7-9 23:56:33