John Tamny for Forbes
The dictionary definition of the word “bubble” is “a nearly spherical body of gas contained in a liquid.” But economists, market commentators and politicians have hijacked the word, using it now to describe any market rising higher than what self-presumed experts deem a correct level.
Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi’s infamous rant against Goldman Sachs used the word “bubble” 29 times to illustrate Taibbi’s theory that the bank was a “bubble machine.” Recently in The Wall Street Journal, reporter Jon Hilsenrath inserted “bubble” no less than 28 times in an article titled “Fed Debates New Role: Bubble Fighter.”
So overused is the word that its greatest adherents have devalued it altogether. No longer a descriptive noun, “bubble” has become the default term for lazy writers seeking to explain what they cannot.
