Words and Meanings

Net-net, my value proposition is based
on maximizing synergies and being first
to market with a leveraged, value-added deliverable.
That's the opportunity space on a
level playing field.
--SPELL (March/April)

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
--America the Beautiful

The two pillars of political correctness are:
a) willful ignorance
b) a steadfast refusal to face the truth
--George MacDonald
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In today's mail was my grammar newsletter, a real estate magazine and some poverty statistics. Words and meanings jumped out rather readily.

From Real Estate Forum came non-performing assets (= "duds') and high net-worth individuals (= "rich"), but an editorial assured us that prosperity is just around the corner for those poised to exploit this economic breather.

Next was the statistic that $14,600 is the official poverty line for a single person household in Florida, and 16% of children in Florida are "poor", defined as living in families earning below 100% of the federal poverty level (National Center for Children in Poverty.) About 12% of the state is poor, running neck-and-neck with President Obama's state of Illinois, and my county, Leon, is 25% poor. (Leon also includes the state's capital.)

Almost one in five kids lacks health insurance in the state (18.8 by the last pre-recession figures.) Barabara Ehrenreich wrote about the Nouveau Poor in a recent NYT essay, "Too Poor to make the News." She writes, "In good times and grim ones, the misery at the bottom just keeps piling up, like a bad debt that will eventually come due."

When one is not in the "high net-worth" category, one tends to get looked over.