I’ll make this brief, but I’ve noticed some aspects of our language and times that make me smile. Here goes…
Helicopter Money
The idea is that to best stimulate the economy, we send money to the people most likely to quckly spend it. During the 2008 onset of the Great Recession, the CBO analyzed several approaches for stimulus, and they advised to load up the helicopters:
The most effective types of short-term fiscal stimulus (delivered either through tax cuts or increased spending on transfer payments) are those that direct money to people who are most likely to quickly spend the bulk of any additional funds provided to them.
Ben Bernanke (the eventual chair of the Federal Reserve under presidents Bush and Obama) received attention for using the term in 2002 and was soon tagged as “Helicopter Ben”. As he points out, it was Nobel Prize laureate Milton Friedman who originated the concept. The term is coming back into usage again and the recent bill will help launch the plan.
Hamsterkauf
Ever watch in astonishment as a hamster stuffs its cheek pouches so much that it expands more than you ever thought possible (or safe)? Does that mental image remind you of any people lately?
Panic buying in order to hoard items is called Hamsterkauf (noun) in the German language. Singular is Hamsterkauf and plural is Hamsterkäufe (links include pronunciation).
Deutsche Welle ponders whether this term can jump into English usage. We’ve mastered Schadenfreude in the States, so why not? It’s apt for the times.
Check out this little creature starting at about 1:30 in his efforts to carry his “groceries”, and don’t miss the X-ray view:
An Honest Government Ad about the Coronavirus
I think Kossacks know a setup with they see one. This is pretty good:
Stay safe everyone!