soft-second n.— «As another example, borrowers could be required to share with the government or with the holder of the borrower’s existing mortgage either the equity created through a write-down or the future appreciation in the home...
take-out-the-trash day n.— «Let’s cut the guy some slack that his great escape was announced on a Friday afternoon. (Known in government as “take-out-the-trash day” when particularly smelly news is dumped on reporters heading...
futarchy n.— «Robin D. Hanson, an economist at George Mason University, proposes a “futarchy,” a form of government enhanced by prediction markets. Voters would decide broad goals of national welfare, but betting in speculative markets...
emosexual n.— «One person wrote on a government youth-website forum, “detesto a los emosexuales,” which translates as “I hate emosexuals.” Emosexual is an obvious play on homosexual, especially in Spanish, where...
helicopter money n.— «it’s time to think about so-called “helicopter money.” While most people understandably worry primarily about the US housing market, the real threat to our economic security is now coming from the...
walking quorum n.— «“Walking” quorums, often called “roaming” quorums, are those times when members of a government body—a city council or school board, for instance—discuss public business outside of public meetings. It’s often in groups...