{"id":14116,"date":"2015-11-03T07:49:06","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T12:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=14116"},"modified":"2015-11-03T07:49:06","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T12:49:06","slug":"bombardiers-strange-chokehold-on-the-public-purse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=14116","title":{"rendered":"Bombardier’s strange chokehold on the public purse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bombardier’s strange chokehold on the public purse<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

In today’s lexicon, government ‘investment’ means spending your money on someone else<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bombardier's<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Bombardier’s new, much-delayed CS300 aircraft made its first test flight in February, but some investment analysts are wondering if the longer, narrow-bodied jet has missed its moment. (Christinne Muschi\/Reuters)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Has anyone noticed how the word “spend” vanished at some point from the political vocabulary?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Governments simply don’t spend anymore, they “invest” on behalf of grateful taxpayers who put up the capital.<\/p>\n

The political appeal of this semantic shift is obvious:\u00a0“investing” has a virtuous ring; it implies prudent choices and a handsome return.<\/p>\n

Put it this way,\u00a0you might actually pay someone to invest your money, but do you really want anyone else spending it?<\/p>\n

As for “bailout,” well, that term is about as politically acceptable nowadays as a racial slur. You bail out the weak and incompetent. You invest in winners.<\/p>\n

So, this week, Bombardier is \u2014\u00a0once again \u2014\u00a0a “winner.”<\/p>\n