Posts tagged as:

economics

CLASS WARFARE: the struggle for political and economic power carried on between capitalists and workers.

January 31, 2012

The term class warfare is actually a term created by Karl Marx and used by Marxists to describe the way in which the elite pound on the lower classes in society.  It is amusing, therefore, to find the words being used in today’s political dialogue by Republicans (primarily) to describe the way in which they [...]

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RECOVERY: a transitional stage following a crisis

November 7, 2011

Given my history of hospitalizations over the past year or more, when I hear the word recovery my mind moves directly to the recovery room.  It’s that very important location in a hospital where you are moved for a temporary stay directly after having surgery or some other procedure.  The main reason they take you [...]

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INFLATION/DEFLATION: economic terms to identify the value of purchase

September 21, 2011

Economists and politicians toss “in-house” language around, assuming that we all know what it is they are talking about.  Sometimes it really doesn’t matter.  The words are very much trade language and useful only to those engaged in finance. But when it comes to such common terms as inflation and deflation it’s important to be [...]

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CHICKEN: a dangerous game in which opponents “stare down” each other

July 14, 2011

Who can forget the scene in Rebel Without a Cause in which James Dean, playing the lead character, is speeding head-on toward his rival in souped-up cars?  They are playing “chicken” to see which one of them will blink first before the cars smash into each other, probably killing both of them.   The basic principle [...]

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MISAPPROPRIATED: to apply wrongfully

January 31, 2011

This posting is not about stealing money…per se. By choosing the word misappropriated I may have misled you into thinking that I was going to write about embezzlement or fraud.  That’s the way the word misappropriated is usually used.  A (man) in a company misappropriates funds from their rightful location to a secret location which [...]

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ANTEBELLUM: existed before the Civil War

November 10, 2010

The word antebellum is used frequently in the arena of architecture to identify buildings which existed in the years before the beginning of the Civil War in America.   There is actually quite a variation in style and design, but the ones which seem to characterize the type called antebellum are the plantation homes of the [...]

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NOBLESSE OBLIGE: the moral obligation of those of high birth, powerful social position, etc., to act with honor, kindliness, generosity, etc

September 10, 2010

I first stumbled upon the term noblesse oblige (pronounced “no-bless oh-bleege”) in a history class in college.  It seems, even today, that I should have heard the term before that.  It refers to an issue which is huge…and has a lot to do with the foundation of our country and the progress the country made [...]

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NEOPHILIAC:personality type characterized by a strong affinity for novelty.

July 6, 2010

I had a tough time determining how to choose a graphic for this post.  There is not an abundance of photography or graphic design available to show a neophiliac specifically.  Is it any wonder?  Who wants their picture taken to define an obsession with new things to the point of being labeled?  A neophiliac is [...]

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FISCALAMITY: dire financial or economic distress created by fiscal mismanagement.

January 9, 2010

Fiscalamity is one of those new words I speak about occasionally. It comes from Word Spy, one of my favorite blogs where there is no cover charge for new words. They are welcome and greeted with hospitality by the blogger, Paul McFedries. If you haven’t checked it out, this is a good time. I chose [...]

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