The misuse of language described in the book 1984 has come true. A bill that relaxes pollution controls is called the "Clear Skies Initiative," a bill that increases clear-cutting is called the "Healthy Forests Initiative." (The Assault on Reason, p. 79).

Doublespeak quiz
1. What do you think "The Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act" would do? Answer [link to The Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act below]

2. Who are "Californians for Affordable Prescriptions?"

3. Who are "Californians for Statewide Smoking Regulation?"

4. What is wrong with this statement: "Myth #4: Capital gains tax cuts do not pay for themselves. Fact: Capital gains tax revenues doubled following the 2003 tax cut."

5. What is wrong with this common statement: People are better off - the average income increased by _____.

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Answers

1. The Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act. It would allow smoking in bars and segregated areas of restaurants.

2. Californians for Affordable Prescriptions - A group that opposed a Calif. proposition providing prescription discounts? No, the pharmaceutical industry.

3. Californians for Statewide Smoking Regulation. A tobacco industry front that sought to pass a proposition ending all local anti-smoking laws.

4. Myth #4. This is from the Heritage Foundation website: The first thing to note is that the "answer" does not answer the question, or "myth." The fact that the government gets more revenue immediately after a capital gains tax cut does not say that it pays for itself. The Heritage folks are smart enough to know that is a lie, so they don't say it. It simply means people saw an opportunity to sell off long held assets that had a lot of capital gains. In fact, revenues will be reduced in later years because these assets have already been sold, thus depressing the number of appreciated assets available for people to sell (Factcheck.org).

5. Income - The average is influenced by those at the top making a lot more income. Those in the middle had income increases, but inflation increased more. The higher household incomes reflect the fact that more spouses are going to work because the primary wage earner isn't making enough to cover high housing and other costs.

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