Colorful Comparison

[Joel S. Berson]

At 9/18/2008 10:03 AM, Doug_Harris wrote:
>Nicholas Kristof, known to have a soft spot for
>the horrendous problems of distressed nations,
>used a reading-pace-arresting comparison in today's
>NYT to highlight the "Brobdingnagian paychecks" of
>corporate executives that are, he notes, "partly the
>result of taxpayer subsidies."
>These, he said, "cost taxpayers more than $20 billion a year.
>That's enough money to deworm every child in the world, cut maternal
>mortality around the globe by two-thirds and also provide iodized salt to
>prevent tens of millions of children from suffering mild retardation or
>worse. . . ."
>--
>Whoa!
>The executive pay issue _is_ something we should be concerned, and
>outraged, about.
>So, I guess, is the need for deworming of some children. But ALL of them?

I think you're being harsh, Doug.  I take as implicit "[every child
in the world' who needs deworming".  That adjusts the
scale.  (Although I do agree it won't make it as a campaign slogan.)

Joel

>Still, I don't see 'take from the rich and give to the dewormers' ever
>becoming a campaign slogan. The comparison, well meaning as Kristoff is,
>lacks scale.
>cats22 (aka doug)
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org