In Politics, Each Word is Important

This is a political review of words and word games; not just the choices of words among candidates and their advisors, but also the manner in which these words are used..

Imagine you're a Republican who wants to repeal the estate tax, offering yet another tax break for your rich pals. Possibly you truly believe that tax cuts for the rich indeed "trickle down" to those in need. Or perhaps you are more cynical, and simply fear that the average schmuck might be starting to catch on to all of this welfare for the wealthy. Either way, strategically, you don't literally want to bluntly say that the "estate tax" is the tax you aim to repeal. After all, well-to-do people are the ones with big estates. So instead, you create a new name. You direct your ire toward the "death tax," a dreaded combo of death and taxes all at once. What could seem to be more unfair?

With this approach, Republicans have won support for an amendment to repeal the estate tax, er, the death tax. They have found no need to mention that the handful who would benefit would have minimum estates of $3.5 million for a single person, or $7 million for a couple. The simple change in wording, "death tax" instead of "estate tax," has been a key.

For all this time, the same Repubs have fought against a minimum wage increase. This loyal opposition has been in the name of promoting an "ownership society" in which Big Brother government bureaucracy will not dictate levels of pay. Henceforth, this is why millions of American workers in places such as our big box thrift stores and our fast food greaseries and our nursing care sweatshops retain the "opportunity" to be underpaid, and underinsured too. Again, words, words, words. The choice of "opportunity" carries the day, misleading as it may be.

NOT IDEAS, JUST SLOGANS
So goes the political word game. With our shorter attention spans, individual words mean more. You may be reading this piece and saying to yourself, "Mwtsaginaw usually seems OK, but five pages is a lot!" I've done the same with other writers. We truly are a sound-bite generation.