Words sell difficult ideas to S.J. voters
No one who has paid the slightest bit of attention to local government this year can hope to escape the impact of catchphrases. If truth is the first casualty of war, then crafting the right title or slogan is the first imperative of politics.
Corporations have known about this for years. Was half the workforce fired? No, no, no. They were right-sized. (“Hi, honey, how was your day? “I got right-sized.” “Great, let’s go to a movie.”)
The federal government has known about it, too. Former President Bill Clinton was one of the first who realized that you could sell a tax increase as long as you put it in terms of an investment. I’m surprised no one has tried to rename the IRS the Investment Revenue Service.
Over the last few years particularly, we’ve seen an explosion of catchphrases designed to sell uncomfortable ideas to local voters. Here are a few of my favorites:
Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) — The measure headed for the November ballot to legalize marijuana sales in California doesn’t have liberating words that might suggest a party for stoners. Absolutely not. This is for adults, who use adult words like regulation and standardization. Even the acronym AUMA sounds sober, like your alma mater.
Business Tax Modernization — The city of San Jose is preparing a measure for November that would double the business tax. Will the top line tell you that? Of course not. It’s not really significant that we’re increasing the tax. What’s important is that we’re
modernizing it. What? You want to live in 1986?
Pension Reform — This is the granddaddy of catchphrases in local politics, one that has shaped an angry debate for five years. I’ve used it myself many times. But it’s worth pointing out that one person’s pension reform is another person’s belt-tightening in retirement. It all depends where you start.
Urban Village — Never mind that this phrase embodies a contradiction. The developers who are taking advantage of the “urban village” idea in San Jose’s general plan are talking of building massive five- and six-story apartment buildings, not the cute one- and two-story buildings that characterize a village like Saratoga or Los Altos. No surprise: “Village” is a powerful sales word.
Inclusionary Housing — This is a variety of a catchphrase. It has modest sales power. After all, most of us want to be inclusive. But really, it’s a euphemism for affordable housing, which is a euphemism for housing for the poor. “Inclusionary housing” has the added advantage of being utterly impenetrable. It’s hard for people to object when they don’t understand what you’re saying.
I make my living by words, so I cannot help but admire the sheer ingenuity behind these phrases. But I sense that they
have a short half-life. One of the reasons that Donald Trump has struck a chord this year is that he doesn’t use phrases like this. He has other flaws, like bullying and racism.
It makes you think how Americans might have handled the Brexit campaign in Great Britain over whether to leave the European Union. The two sides there have been using the straightforward “Leave” or “Remain” to push their viewpoints.
If the campaign were in San Jose, the catchphrases would be very different. The folks who want to break might use the words “Liberate, not Submit.” The folks who want to stay might use the words “Forward, not Retreat.” When will the English start to learn the power of their own tongue?