Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has been in the news lately. She has been fighting back against Wall Street firms who seem to have increasing control over our government. A few weeks ago, Warren wrote a special article that appeared in the Huffington Post, outlining her reasons for opposing President Obama’s nominee for the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department, Antonio Weiss. Apparently Mr. Weiss is a long-time Wall Street executive who has created mergers, so-called corporate inversions and other tax-dodging schemes for large corporations. I couldn’t help but notice that such discussions of politics and economics normally involve distinctive metaphors derived from our experiences with physical actions. You can read the full text here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-warren/presidents-wall-street-nominee_b_6188324.html
As first suggested by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Johnson (1990), we often create metaphors based on experiences with our own physical actions such as pushing, pulling, holding, cutting, etc. We use such actions to create metaphors to describe economics. First, however, I should also point out that common words for seeing with our eyes from a standing height can also be used metaphorically to describe political and economic processes. Here are a few examples. As usual, the quotations are directly from the text. I have italicized the metaphors for easy recognition by the reader. Enjoy!
Sight
oversee, oversight
To oversee something means to supervise or control it. Metaphorically this process is called oversight.
Example: “Last Wednesday, President Obama announced his nomination of Antonio Weiss to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department. This is a position that oversees Dodd-Frank implementation and a wide range of banking and economic policymaking issues, including consumer protection.”
Example: “According to a report by the Institute for America’s Future, by the following year, the six biggest banks employed 243 lobbyists who once worked in the federal government, including 33 who had worked as chiefs of staff for members of Congress and 54 who had worked as staffers for the banking oversight committees in the Senate or the House.”
focus
We have the ability to look at objects that are close or far away by focusing our eyes to the correct distance. Metaphorically we can also focus on issues or problems by examining them in closer detail. We may also refer to this process as having a sharper focus on something.
Example: “As someone who has spent my career focused on domestic economic issues, including a stint of my own at the Treasury Department, I know how important these issues are and how much the people in Treasury can shape policies.”
point of view
Being able to see something implies that one has a view of it. Figuratively, however, a person having a view can mean that he or she has an opinion on a certain matter. We may also say that a person has a particular point of view based on his or her position in relation to the object in sight.
Example: “The over-representation of Wall Street banks in senior government positions sends a bad message. It tells people that one — and only one — point of view will dominate economic policymaking.”
loophole
A loophole is an error in a policy or law in which someone can gain advantage for himself or herself, as in tax loopholes which allow wealthy people or corporations to avoid paying taxes. The word loophole is actually derived from a phrase from the 15th century meaning to look through a hole in a wall as if it were a window.
Example: “Basically, a bunch of companies have decided that all the regular tax loopholes they get to exploit aren’t enough, so they have begun taking advantage of an even bigger loophole that allows them to maintain their operations in America but claim foreign citizenship and cut their U.S. taxes even more.”
Holding objects
hold posts
If someone holds a post, this means that he or she has a certain government job in an administration.
Example: “Shortly before the [Eric] Cantor episode, another former member of Congress — Democrat Melissa Bean — took the same senior job at JPMorgan Chase previously held by Democrat Bill Daley before his recent service as White House Chief of Staff.”
loosen
The opposite of tightening something is to loosen it. As with tighten, verbs such as loosen or relax are also used metaphorically to reduce the pressure on a situation.
Example: “It’s time for the Obama administration to loosen the hold that Wall Street banks have over economic policy making.”
tap
To tap means to hit a surface lightly, especially as in tapping a table with one’s fingers. In some cases, we must politely tap people on the arm or shoulder to get their attention. Metaphorically, asking someone to take a job may also be referred to as tapping them for a position.
Example: “For the number two spot at the Federal Reserve, the President tapped Stanley Fischer, another former Citigroup executive.”
raise
One way of describing the lifting motion is called raising as in raising our hands in the air. In a series of very common metaphors, we can say that we raise children, raise crops or raise money.
Example: “So who is Antonio Weiss? He’s the head of global investment banking for the financial giant Lazard. He has spent the last 20 years of his career at Lazard — most of it advising on international mergers and acquisitions. That raises the first issue.”
inversion
To invert means to turn something upside down. An inversion is the result of that action such as in reversed word order in a sentence or different temperatures in layers of climates in a valley. In economics, companies can create a tax inversion by moving their headquarters to a different country with a lower tax rate, even though most of their company’s operations stay in the first country. The company can then save millions of dollars in taxes by being able to pay the lower taxes of the second country.
Example: “No one is fooled by the bland words “corporate inversion.” These companies renounce their American citizenship and turn their backs on this country simply to boost their profits.”
boost
To push someone or something up from a lower position is known as boosting. Some high school or college clubs created to raise money for a certain cause are called booster clubs. Metaphorically, to boost something means to increase its height, power or performance.
Example: “These companies renounce their American citizenship and turn their backs on this country simply to boost their profits.”
Cutting and Slashing
cut
The act of cutting involves a sharp object removing a piece of an object from a larger base, as in cutting a piece of paper with a scissors. In common terms, we may also speak of cutting budgets, staff, or programs by reducing their size.
Example: “Basically, a bunch of companies have decided that all the regular tax loopholes they get to exploit aren’t enough, so they have begun taking advantage of an even bigger loophole that allows them to maintain their operations in America but claim foreign citizenship and cut their U.S. taxes even more.”
cut a deal
Another figurative expression based on a cutting motion is to cut a deal. This implies that an agreement is reached between two parties.
Example: “One of the biggest and most public corporate inversions last summer was the deal cut by Burger King to slash its tax bill by purchasing the Canadian company Tim Hortons and then “inverting” the American company to Canadian ownership.”
undercut
Literally to undercut something means to make a low cut into an object such as a piece of wood so that the higher portion remains above the lower portion. Metaphorically, undercutting refers to such things as offering lower prices than a competitor, or more abstractly, to reduce the effectiveness of another person’s actions or reputation.
Example: “The White House and Treasury have strongly denounced inversions, and rightly so. But they undercut their own position by advancing Mr. Weiss.”
slash
Another word for cut is slash, but the latter term implies a more drastic or violent cutting action.
Example: “One of the biggest and most public corporate inversions last summer was the deal cut by Burger King to slash its tax bill by purchasing the Canadian company Tim Hortons and then “inverting” the American company to Canadian ownership.”
crash
When two objects hit each other with great force, we call this crashing, as in a car crash. Metaphorically, the word crash can refer to any event in which the process or result is totally ruined. For example, we may refer to a dramatic drop in stock prices as a stock market crash.
Example: “Soon after they crashed the economy and got tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts, the biggest Wall Street banks started lobbying Congress to head off any serious financial regulation.”
I believe these types of metaphors are strong evidence that we create conceptual metaphors based on body position and physical actions. These types of physical actions seem very common in discussions of money, profits, taxes or other economic topics. If you see any other examples, please let me know!
Next time: Metaphors of Taste