antihomonuptial adj.— «I have actually considered that laws against (or implicitly disallowing) gay marriage are, actually, sexist. For example, suppose I lived somewhere with antihomonuptial legislation.» —“Gay marriage: the database engineering...
magic-wand bill n.— «This is the kind of bill that is often called a magic-wand bill—something that’s one thing, is something else just because we say it is.…Any kind of laws that disregard the reality of the situation is worrisome. It’s basically...
The mildly interesting meaning behind one of Grant’s nominations for the 2007 Word of the Year: earmarxist. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Earmarxist: Political Slang for a Lawmaker Who Adds Earmarks” Well, Grant, a little while...
prebate n.— «Because poorer people tend to spend a greater share of their income than the wealthy, economists generally consider sales taxes as regressive. The proposal would buffer that burden by pairing the new tax with a system of monthly...
parate execution n.— «Parate execution is a term that defaulting customers of banks fear most. “Parate” is a Dutch term which means “immediate” and “parate execution” basically means a debt recovery process outside the normal law. The moment a...
lock box n.—Gloss: a government account or fund which is protected from reappropriation to other government programs. «The current casinos bill under consideration puts about $300 million in an account, which legislators refer to as a “lock box”...