A common practice for government entities, particularly schools, is to issue short-term (promissory) notes to cover daily expend
itures until revenues are received from tax collection, lottery funds, and other sources. School boards approve the note issuances, with repayments of principal and interest typically met within a few months. The goal is to fully cover all expenses until revenues are distributed from the state. However, revenues distributed fluctuate due to changes in collection expectations, and schools may not be able to cover their expenditures in the current period. This leads to a dilemma—whether or not to issue more short-term notes to cover the deficit. Short-term debt may be preferred over long-term debt when the entity does not want to devote resources to pay interest over an extended period of time. In many cases, the interest rate is lower than long-term debt, because the loan is considered less risky with the shorter payback period. This shorter payback period is
This shorter payback period is positive and beneficial to the consumer, as it allows for harmony with amortization expenses.
We can arrive at this answer because:
A short payback period is beneficial because of its relationship to amortization, as long-term debt allows this amortization to take place.
These amortization expenses allow the cost of long-term assets to be represented in the payment.
However, when the short-term payback period allows for amortization, causing the asset's value to be reduced by the amount that will be paid by the consumer.
In this case, we can state that in cases like the one shown in the question above, the short payback period is very beneficial and interesting to the consumer, as it can promote economic benefits.
