WORDS MEAN THINGS
An interesting study in word choices in RedState:
Words Mean Things
by Hogan, November 24, 2009
The Senate healthcare bill has numerous flaws – but you needn’t know the details to know that it erodes freedom, restricts your ability to care for your family according to your wishes, costs trillions of dollars, increases taxes, increases premiums and is so massive that it is impossible to comprehend fully. In fact, the 2074 page behemoth in the Senate is an interesting study in word choices that tell you all you need to know about the bill. See below for a list of select words – and I am not the only one to do such a review (I noticed, e.g., Lee DeCovnick over at American Thinker from yesterday here).
The word “shall” appears 3607 times, but “freedom” only twice. The word “penalty” and its various forms 163 times, but “liberty” doesn’t appear at all. The word “require” and its forms 1025 times, but the “Constitution” is absent both literally and figuratively. The word tax and its forms appears 183 times, fee 234 times, and “Internal Revenue” 104 times. Other words like apply, rule, culture, diverse, enforce, provide, authority - all words that appear repeatedly, while a word like “own” appears only 11 times. See the full list below. It is quite telling.
Words in the Senate healthcare bill:
(including the various forms of each, e.g. plural)
Pages = 2074
Shall or Shall Not = 3607
Provide = 1910
May or May Not = 1047
Secretary = 2500
Penalty = 163
Sanction = 8
Oversight = 39
Study = 150
Report = 789
Require = 1025
Authority = 115
Culture = 40
Allow = 162
Cost = 562
Fund = 563
Fee = 234
Tax = 183
“Internal Revenue…” = 104
Enforce = 47
Government = 117
Qualify = 482
Apply = 1741
Monitor = 55
Rule = 310
Certify = 177
Law = 283
Authorize = 408
Reasonable = 61
Compare to:
Freedom = 2
Free = 15
Liberty = 0
Choice = 40
Choose = 4
Own = 11
Constitution = 0
Federalism = 0
