What does it mean when politicians say "the fundamentals are sound"? The
phrase is meaningless in itself, it only makes sense as a denial of an
implicit charge that the fundamentals (whatever they are) _aren't_ sound.
The phrase is the economic equivalent of "we are beginning to see a light at
the end of the tunnel", "I am not a crook" or "I have never had sexual
relations with that woman". The denial is strictly pro forma. No one
believes or is expected to believe it.
One of the "fundamentals" is not having to deny the unsoundness of the
fundamentals. To say that the "fundamentals are sound" is therefore to mean
that they are not.
"Markets rise and fall. But our economy is
the strongest it's been in a generation,
and its fundamentals are sound,"
Clinton said in his weekly radio address.
. . .
Clinton recorded his address Friday while in Ireland.
His comments came after Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve
Board, warned Friday that the global financial turmoil and Wall
Street's volatility may hurt the U.S. economy and suggested he was as
inclined to cut interest rates as to raise them.
Regards,
Tom Walker
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