"Kick the can down the road" is an idiom that means to postpone or delay dealing with a problem or making a decision, usually by taking a temporary or short-term solution that will only cause the problem to resurface later.
The origin of this idiom comes from the game of "kick the can," where children kick a can along the road, and the game continues until someone kicks the can far enough to win. However, in the context of the idiom, it means that instead of dealing with a problem, we just keep pushing it down the road, hoping that someone else will deal with it later.
For example, if a company is facing financial difficulties, and instead of making tough decisions to cut costs or restructure, they decide to borrow more money to keep the business running, they are just kicking the can down the road. This approach may provide temporary relief, but it will only delay the inevitable and make the problem worse in the long run.
Similarly, if a government is facing a difficult policy decision, and instead of making a tough choice, they decide to form a committee to study the issue further, they are also just kicking the can down the road.
In short, "kick the can down the road" is an idiom used to describe a situation where a problem is not addressed or resolved, but instead, it is postponed or delayed, leading to more significant problems in the future.
• It's frustrating to see how the government keeps kicking the can down the road on immigration reform, leaving millions of people in limbo.
• We can't just keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to healthcare reform, it's time for a solution.
• The politicians keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to climate change, instead of taking immediate action.
• The company's management has been kicking the can down the road on addressing the issue of diversity and inclusion, causing frustration among employees.
• The CEO's reluctance to address the company's financial issues head-on has resulted in a series of short-term fixes, essentially just kicking the can down the road.
• I don't want to deal with this problem right now, let's just kick the can down the road and deal with it later.
• The CEO was criticized for always kicking the can down the road and never taking action to address the company's financial problems.
• The politicians had been kicking the can down the road for so long that the crisis had become a full-blown disaster by the time they took action.
• The company has been avoiding making a decision about the new project. They keep kicking the can down the road.
• The manager knew there was a problem with the team's productivity, but she kept kicking the can down the road until it was too late to fix.
• The government has been ignoring the issue of climate change for years, always kicking the can down the road.
• I don't want to deal with my homework today. I'll just kick the can down the road and do it tomorrow.