By Kelsi Peace, Managing Editor

Armed with $25 and a computer, employees who lie to skip a day of work can have solid proof they aren’t lying.

Thanks to the Excused Absence Network from Vision Matters, LLC, so-called responsible adults are now equipped to lie to their employers and support the falsehood with a computer-generated medical note, jury summons or funeral service program from the Web site, www.myexcusedabsence.com.

This deceptive program casts a light on just how lazy and irresponsible many adults have grown. Or perhaps we’ve always been lazy, just much more subtle about it.

The days of subtlety faded with the advent of this program, which announces to Web site visitors, “Don’t just come up with same old excuses -back them up.”

The program flashes a disclaimer- for entertainment purposes only.

However, the $25 fake notes can be purchased through the Internet payment program Pay-Pal, and the products are currently on sale, suggesting they are intended for purchase, and in turn, use.

And arguments from creators imply a very real intention behind the facetious front.

“Millions of Americans work dead-end jobs, and sometimes they just need a day off,” cofounder John Liddell told the Associated Press. “People are going to lie anyway.”

Such faulty reasoning speaks for itself. If society equipped people to do all the things they will do anyway, we would be providing a lot of getaway cars, illegal drugs and cheat sheets.

Liddell’s willingness to equip sluggish adults to lie disturbs, but more disturbing is the complacent acceptance that a difficult or unpleasant task is license to dodge responsibility.

We joke about the great jobs that allow employees to surf the Internet and waste time while on the clock – but deep down probably relate on a very real level.

And such shirking comes at a price. CNN Money.com cited a study from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, a global outplacement consultant, last year during a November influenza outbreak . The group estimated employers would lose $10 billion in paid sick leave at the national level.

While this $10 billion loss can hardly be avoided from the inevitable flu season, this figure represents only those who legitimately miss work.

Aside from the practical implications of employees increasingly (and nonchalantly) deceiving their employers, the lack of integrity suggests a serious flaw in our thinking.

Some motivation – be it God’s glory or personal satisfaction – should inspire us to keep working rather than seek the easiest escape. A generated doctor’s note cannot solve boredom, unhappiness or laziness. It just puts responsibility off until tomorrow.

So take heart – if the looming finals week grows overwhelming, the Excused Absence Network can certainly conjure up an excuse. After all, we wouldn’t want to have to work too hard.