Welcome back to the theater of the absurd, where today’s performance features Latvian Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens playing the role of the shocked schoolteacher who’s just realized the dog didn’t eat the homework—the dog pointed out the homework was written in crayon.

Aseradens is currently having a very public, very bureaucratic meltdown over a State Audit Office report. The auditors, in a rare moment of clarity, looked at the government’s grand strategy to curb the 'shadow economy' and concluded it was 'weak and superficial.' Naturally, instead of saying, 'Fair point, we’ll try harder,' the Minister has decided to shoot the messenger. According to him, it’s the audit that’s weak. It’s a classic move: if you don’t like the mirror, complain about the glass.

Let’s be real for a second. The 'shadow economy' isn't some mystical, dark-shrouded cabal. It’s just people trying to survive a system that’s about as efficient as a screen door on a submarine. It’s the under-the-table cash for the plumber, the side-hustle that doesn't get reported, and the general consensus that the state is a black hole for tax dollars. The government loves to talk about 'curbing' it because it sounds proactive, like they’re actually doing something other than shuffling papers and attending luncheons.

Aseradens is upset because the auditors pulled back the curtain. They noticed that the 'comprehensive plan' to fix tax evasion was essentially a collection of bullet points and wishful thinking. The Minister calls the audit 'superficial,' which is rich coming from a man whose job consists of managing a national budget that relies heavily on hoping nothing goes wrong.

This is how the game is played. The government produces a plan that looks good on a PowerPoint slide. The auditors point out it has no teeth. The Minister gets insulted to distract from the fact that the shadow economy is the only part of the country that actually functions on time. It’s a beautiful, self-sustaining cycle of incompetence. Meanwhile, the actual shadow economy continues to thrive, blissfully ignored by everyone except the people actually working in it and the politicians who need someone to blame for the next budget shortfall. Stay cynical, folks. It’s the only way to stay sane.