The OECD and IMF have both warned of the need for a credible plan to bring the budget into balance, and ratings agency Standard and Poor's has said it is putting Britain's AAA credit rating on review until such a plan emerges.
Terry was found not guilty in July but the FA found him guilty on 27 September, using the "balance of probabilities" as its standard of proof as opposed to the "beyond reasonable doubt" ruling used in a criminal trial.
Standard deviation also adjusts for periodic changes in scheduling balance over the years, such as the breakdown of each league into two (and then three) divisions, and interleague play.
It allowed countries lucky enough to have a boomerang currency to disregard the internal consequences that would have resulted from a balance-of-payments deficit under the gold standard.
Companies need to stop using a dizzying array of earnings measures, from pro forma and cash to EBIDTA, and focus on a uniform standard that doesn't give a misleading picture of the balance sheet.
And while you may be inclined to believe that people should work even if it means earning less than if they allow the government to pay for them in the guise of welfare, it becomes difficult for individuals to live up to that standard when the ability to feed their children hangs in the balance.