When Words Disappear
It's always interesting to watch how a society's vernacular changes, to see new words added and old words subtracted. Additions bring the most fuss (see: text messaging). Subtractions often slip by the way side. The most striking example, today, is the word 'SOCIALISM'. As in, while the government bails out and consumes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who oversee over 70% of the housing market, few in the mainstream refer to this act as socialism, which it nearly well is.
The questions posed by commentators concern how much taxpayers will pay and what the future looks like for the housing market. Never is the question 'Is the United States moving toward socialism?' which is a serious question.
The economic hilarity of the situation is striking and shows a clear economic ignorance. If the government is bailing out the housing market (i.e., paying for their debts), how will the average tax paying American not pay for part of the bill? The government's coffer is staffed only by what it takes in from taxes. That is, you pay what the government pays.
Disappearing words are like those neighbors who move out in the night. They slip away unnoticed until one day an event happens that prompts someone to ask, 'Whatever happened to such-and-such?' When the U.S. government assumes over 70% of a market and achieves the biggest government intervention in too many years to recount is such an event.