That word does not mean what you think it means
By From the New York Times, Wall Street is pushing back against offensive suggestion that perhaps they have any obligation to account for the billions of dollars we gave them:
“I think President Obama painted everyone with a broad stroke,” said Brian McCaffrey, 55, a Wall Street lawyer who was on his way to see a client. “The way we pay our taxes is bonuses. The only way that we’ll get any of our bailout money back is from taxes on bonuses. I think bonuses should be looked at on a case by case basis, or you turn into a socialist.”
That, indeed, was a recurring equation: Broad strokes + bonuses = socialist.
“It’s a very slippery slope to go down,” said another insurance broker as he waited to be seated for lunch at Cipriani Downtown. “A blanket statement like that borders on” — you guessed it — “socialism.”
I know crying “socialism” whenever anyone gets in your way is pretty deeply ingrained for some people, but it might be time to find a new word.