Furlough days tough on wallet, but a nice break

I am declaring this the Summer of the Furlough.

It might actually turn out to be the Year of the Furlough, but it's early yet, and I know some still seem intent on turning 2009 into the Year of the Death Panel, so I don't want to jump the gun.

By all rights, I probably shouldn't try to engage in trendspotting at all. That's Roeper's turf, so my declaration should be viewed as entirely unofficial.

Still, at the start of 2009, furlough was a word mainly used to refer to extended vacation for members of the military and early release of prison inmates.

By this point, though, tens of millions of Americans unfortunately have come to know furloughs firsthand as …