eating the seed corn
Devouring future resources
Eating the seed corn is consuming resources meant for future production or growth.
Farmers who eat their seed corn have nothing to plant next season.
The phrase describes any short-sighted sacrifice of long-term viability for immediate benefit: Cutting the research budget to boost quarterly earnings is eating the seed corn.
- robbing Peter to pay PaulSolving problems by creating others
- short-termismFocus on immediate results
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
- seed savingPreserving plant material for replanting
- food securityGuaranteed adequate nutrition access
future generations · bread and butter · bare cupboard · cutting corners · living beyond means · short-sightedness · agrarian economy · moral hazard · disinvestment · crisis management · crop rotation · soil fertility · austerity measures · economic collapse · deficit spending · subsistence farming
eating the seed corndelayed gratification
Postponing pleasure for benefit
long-term thinking · sowing seeds · long-term planning · capital preservation · frugality
eating the seed cornsustainable management
Administration ensuring continued viability
eating the seed corncompound growth
Growth accelerating over time
capital preservation · sowing seeds · capitalizing · legacy planning
eater, eaters, seeded, seeding, seeder, seedling, seedlings, cornmeal, cornfield