Kuala Lampur, April 8 -- I have a deficit with my supermarket.

They aren't buying as much from me as I'm buying from them. Outrageous, isn't it? Week after week, I push my creaky trolley through their aggressively air-conditioned aisles, loyally injecting my hard-earned ringgit into their empire of overpriced goods. I import cartons of sad-looking cherry tomatoes, kangkung that costs more than common sense, and stale bread with a French name slapped on it for prestige. And what do they buy from me? Nothing. Not a single sen of my goodwill, not even my generous supply of frustration.

My trade balance with the supermarket? Catastrophic. A deficit so huge it belongs in an economics textbook under "how not to run a country".

So, inspired b...