SEPTEMBER 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Buzzing with the latest jargon
For University of Oregon professor and Economist’s View
blog founder Mark Thoma the term “stagflation” is
old news.
“In the 1970s we needed to describe supply shocks
… inflation and unemployment at the same time,”
says Thoma. “It was a way to convey that new idea through
the word itself.”
Fast-forward to summer 2008. Gas prices across the country
escalated to record highs. For vacationers that meant sticking
close to home. For news writers and economics professors it
signaled the invention of a new buzzword.
They all welcomed “staycation” with open arms.
Find “staycation” in The Wall Street
Journal’s jargon tracker and you’ll see major media
publications and bloggers laid it on thick in June and July.
But the summer vacation season is over and Thoma says
it’s only a matter of time before the birth of another
buzzword.
“We may soon need a word to describe a jobless
recovery,” says Thoma, referring to when unemployment
remains high after the economy is healed. What’s a
possibility? “Unrecovery” has a nice buzz to
it.
CHRIS MILLER
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