Public spending is rising, but the BBC news tells us about the Tory Cuts.
I'll say that again. Public spending is rising, but the discussion is about the awful awful nasty "cuts" that the nasty Tories are forcing on us.
Presumably, to "cut" is now defined as "to not increase an amount by as much as someone would like you to". In which case, I shall advertise far and wide to potential clients of the cuts I am making to my charging rates.
Ah, but you'd fall foul of the ASA. Broadcasters aren't subject to that, which is pretty lucky for them...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the effect of inflation. That affects all of us of course.
ReplyDeleteI think Cameron and Osborne are playing a clever game on the economy. Clegg of course is a dead man walking.
This type of language is used everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAs an engineer, I was supervising a large contract and was insisting that the specification was met in all respects. The company's Chief Engineer was getting quite annoyed, and complained to my boss that his company was going to make a huge loss on the project (and by implication that I was being bloody minded) My Chief pressed harder for an explanation and it turned out that in fact "The company would not be able to make as large a profit as anticipated".
This was thirty or more years ago, things haven't changed,
"to not increase an amount by as much as someone would like you to"
ReplyDeleteThis has always been the definition of a "public spending cut". If the increase is so small it is less than was expected, it becomes a "swingeing cut".