We need a new word
By Theresa Camoriano
If we want to understand a concept, we need words to accurately describe it. But there is no good word to express the situation in which the government takes money from people by force, through taxation, and then gives it out to favored recipients in the form of welfare payments, subsidies to favored “green” businesses, farm subsidies, and so forth.
Some people call it generosity, but it cannot be generosity, because true generosity involves giving your own money voluntarily, and that is not the case in this situation.
Some people call it redistributing wealth, but that is not accurate, because wealth is not distributed in the first place – it is earned — so it cannot be re-distributed. Furthermore, the government is not just distributing money; it also is forcibly taking money away from people, and that concept is not reflected in that phraseology.
Some people call it “tax and spend” policies, which is somewhat accurate, but the word “spending” conveys the idea of buying something of value and does not capture the concept of giving money to various favored people.
I have tried the word “fleecerocity”, which is a combination of “fleecing” and “generosity”, but it hasn’t caught on.
How about “gangster giving”? Like a gangster, the government makes us an offer we can’t refuse (your money or else), and then it gives out the money it has taken from us. Sometimes, it even gives some of the money back to us, after extracting a substantial handling fee, and it expects us to be appreciative for its “gift”.
Remember when Nancy Pelosi referred to Obamacare as being a “gift”? Well, in a way, she was correct. But it wasn’t a traditional, voluntarily offered gift – it was a gangster gift!
If you know of a word or phrase that does a better job of capturing the concept, please let me know. We need to be able to communicate this idea clearly so people will understand what is really happening.
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