In the context of government intervention in the economy, the word “even” is a great tipoff that the writer is operating from erroneous assumptions — namely, the assumption that Big Business is a free-market stalwart, with Big Government as its enemy.
Today’s example:
That’s Sarah Lovenheim, spokeswoman for Senate majority leader Harry Reid tweeting “Even the Chamber of Commerce has declared that the [Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing] Program “an important component of America’s energy security.”
The word “even” there implies that the Chamber is an unlikely defender of this subsidy program, which puts taxpayer money at risk to profit companies like Ford and Tesla.
I see this all the time. A Minnesota paper dinged then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty for not taking the strings-attached handouts from Obamacare: “even the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce agrees, Pawlenty went too far when he ordered state agencies not to participate in the federal health care law.”
Obama likes this silly “even.” Remember when he trumpeted that “even the drug companies” were getting behind ObamaCare — the bill that would subsidize drug companies, give them lengthy exclusivity periods, and protect their existing privileges?
Bill Clinton’s FDA chairman crowed that “Even Phillip Morris” supported the regulation that would crush its smaller competitors. The New York Times reported that “Even Wal-Mart’s president and C.E.O., Lee Scott, recently spoke out in favor of raising the minimum wage.” Of course, Wal-Mart pays above the proposed new minimum wage while Mom & Pop are the most likely to suffer from a mandatory wage hike.
The Sun-Sentinel busted out the “even” to point out that existing businesses opposed Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to scrap ridiculous anti-competitive professional licensing laws.
In those latter cases, it’s easier to see why a journalist would be caught off guard — it’s business supporting regulation, and it takes a minute to see the angle. But in the case of the ATVM subsidies, it’s hard to grasp a mindset that would make it surprising that the business lobby wants more government subsidies for business. Unless of course the assumption is “government good, business bad.”
