the accounts formerly known as private-Bush demands new words in SS debate

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=18449

Molly Ivins: Team Bush flip-flops on Social Security linguistics


I wouldn't say it's the most earth-shaking issue around, but I'm fascinated by this fight the administration is picking with the media over "private accounts" versus "personal accounts."

Here's the state of play: Everybody went along in cheerful harmony describing the president's Social Security plan as "partial privatization," since it would allow younger workers to put a third or more of their payroll taxes into private accounts. President Bush called them "private accounts," everyone in the administration called them "private accounts," and Republicans, Democrats and the media all called them "private accounts."

Then, one day, some focus group showed that people, particularly older people, react negatively to any connection between Social Security and the word private. For some reason, people like the sound of "personal accounts" better than they do "private accounts."

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You won't catch me on the wrong side of this argument. I know they're making a list and checking it twice. If I'm not with them, I'm against them. Taking inspiration from Prince, I shall refer to them as "the accounts formerly known as private."

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