What's in a name

by Russ Roberts on February 4, 2009

in Stimulus

Some have been calling the proposed plan to spend $800 or so billion, porkulus. My variant is spamulus, but that requires knowing the ancient use of the word, spam.

Any other suggestions?

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  • kuato

    Suckubus

    Hambonus

  • Len

    If you don't try they don't buy. I say give the President what he wants. That is why the people elected him. If it works, good. If it doesn't we try again. If we continue the bull crap nothing good can happen. If we do nothing it can only get worse. Everybody is a critic Where are the wise men who don't run for office but hang on the rim with opinions but no solutions.

  • Morgan

    The MOAT (Mother of All Troughs).


    With a definite nod to "God's Own Trough" by Thurston.

  • Brandybuck

    "Hope and change" really means "Hope I have Change left in my pocket after eight years of this."

  • TrUmPiT

    Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

    Say it and wild animals would not seem so ferocious.


    Little did Keynes know that reciting this word would calm the "animal spirits" that he spoke about. I guess Nancy Pelosi is the new Mary Poppins. I bet she doesn't realize that either. A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down...


  • BoscoH

    How about just "stimulus":


    http://www.reason.com/blog/show/131517.html


  • Thurston

    The grimulus?


    Sorry for the double posting -- my error. But I claim that the extra post is in the spirit of the "stimulus" -- why settle for just one when you could easily slip in another?

  • Thurston

    Porkzila

    The Aporkcalypse


    Aporkcalypse Now


    The Porkalypse


    Obama, Pelosi, Reed and Geithner -- the Four Hogmen of the Aporkcalypse


    God's Own Trough


    The Bottomless Trough



  • Thurston

    Porkzila

    The Aporkcalypse


    Aporkcalypse Now


    The Porkalypse


    Obama, Pelosi, Reed and Geithner -- the Four Hogmen of the Aporkcalypse


    God's Own Trough


    The Bottomless Trough



  • Parknfly

    My suggestion:


    Industrial Policy instituted by the People via its government instead of by the corrupt and wealthy few.

  • I like:


    Hopium for the masses.

  • Flash Gordon

    Neither Prof. Roberts nor a single commenter credits the one who first referred to the "stimulus" as "porkulus," so I will. It was Rush Limbaugh.


    Ordinarily, you academic types are sticklers for crediting sources. I guess it depends on the source.

  • Bob

    "BEND OVER ul US" and grab your ankles because Obama & Co. have some stimulus for you!

  • vidyohs

    I am late to the party, but I see you've started without me, good deal!


    the obvious: SHAFTULUS.


    the subtle: DOOMULUS.


    the short range: GOTCHALUS


    the long range: ITSOVERULUS


    Remember the "Road to Serfdom", well their isn't any more road left, so that leaves us, where?


    However, naming the idiocy all depends on perspective.


    What do you suppose it is called by the young black woman who was recorded calling an auto dealership and telling them where they could find the car they wanted paid for or repossessed. Where in her conversation (rant) she ended the call by saying, "we ain't rich like you folks, but we're gonna be, cause now we got Obama!"


    You just gotta wonder what label she and her soulmates put on it.

  • Maybe "stymielus" would be better.

  • stymulus: to stymie much needed correction

  • Seth

    How about: "This-is-what-the-older-generation-was-worried-about-when-they-said,-'I-can't-believe-these-kids-will-run-our-country-someday.'"-ulus?

  • E. Barandiaran

    Russ,

    I'm glad that your call was answered by some clever people (including Methinks). It's not a lot of fun, but it's fun anyway. On the contrary, reading Tyler and Arnold's posts and the many comments on them has become a waste of time. They are pathetic--Tyler does no longer know what to say but keeps writing; Arnold is angry because he cannot reinvent the wheel.

  • Methinks

    "STIMULUSSR" & "Tyrantosaurus Wrecks" are two of my favourites. I'm not very clever, so I just call it BS. Short USA.

  • Generation Theft Act

  • BoscoH

    "Shoot me now".

  • Jacob Oost

    Grimulus, dimulus, stick-it-to-us, crap-sandwich-ulus.

  • Romulous and Remus founded Rome


    Obama's Stimulus and Reamus bill destroyed America.

  • Keynesosaurus!!

  • I don't have a better name for the stimulus bill than others posted here, but the meaning of the word "stimulate" has been transformed into "throw wild amounts of money at." On NPR, I heard an arts council type arguing why the Feds should "stimulate" the NY art scene.


    He also said that they asked for $1 billion, but only got $50 million put into the legislation, "which is nowhere near enough," which kind of changes the meaning of "enough" in my mind.

  • mcwop

    Governmnet "Festivus". So far the holiday activities have been "Airing of Grievances" as the bill gets worked up. Once it passes each special interest will tell everyone else all the ways the stimulus has disappointed their cause. Next the "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving special interests wrestling over the money, with the holiday ending only once the federal and state budgets are pinned for decades.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus


  • Unit

    The mega-pork bill.

  • Jim

    "The Stimulus of Obamanation" or "The Emperor's New Stimulus".

  • JP

    Icarus the Inflationary

  • Oil Shock

    Obama's scandolous package.


    I liked stimugeddon, stimuloss etc.


  • Mesa Econoguy

    Spamerican Idol?


    [Bloody Vikings….]


  • LowcountryJoe

    Tyrantosaurus Wrecks; like an evolution of leviathan. Just don't let its short arms fool you...they have quite the reach when going for your back pocket. Tends to wreck all natural rights of mankind in its path.

  • Dr. T

    SSLOPPS: Stimulus Spending Lines Our Politicians' Pockets Superbly

  • I'd name it in honor of one of my favorite recipes:


    Bacon Explosion


    Just like the stimulus bill it is overloaded and wasteful and will make you worse off in the end. 5,000 calories and over 500g of fat.

  • Lee Kelly

    STIMULUSSR

  • Morgan

    From the perspective of catering to special interests: "pandulus"


    From the related perspective of being a source of funds for various favored causes: "petprojectulus"


    From the perspective of artificially boosting consumption today at the expense of future taxpayers: "screwulus"

  • P

    How about "Stimugeddon".


    I've been referring to it as the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Eternal Debt Plan.

  • Morgan

    From the perspective of providing false hope, I propose "pseudulus"


    From the perspective of being undertaken because no one has any better ideas, "desperatulus"


    From the perspective of presumed ineffectiveness, "stimuless". Or maybe "flatulus".

  • Lee Kelly

    Obamulus

  • dg lesvic

    I like the tennor of this thread, that we need more than economic logic, we need propaganda too, wit, flair, style, to grab attention, and not just wait it for it come to us.

  • Since it is all speculative, let's call it:


    Speculus.


    Although Specious also fits...

  • MnM

    stimu-loss

  • gasman

    craptacular!

  • Mark

    Lovely Spam!!!!! Wonderful Spam!!!!


    Spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam. . . .

  • andrew

    scamulus

  • SaulOhio

    Just a big waste of money.

  • thrill

    theftulus

  • ardyan

    ridiculus

  • tw

    People understand the term "pork" as that's hit home. Perhaps a witty diatribe about "What Is Pork vs. What Is Stimulus" along the lines of your podcast "What Is Garbage vs. What Is a Resource" would be effective.

  • Alan Forrester

    How about "screwyoulus".

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