Word: panglossian
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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British Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey possesses a splendid-some think notorious-gift for Panglossian rhetoric in the face of economic distress. Last week he held forth with customary ebullience on Britain's economic prospects. But this time his optimism was well grounded. In addresses to Common Market finance ministers in Brussels, the Chancellor detailed evidence of solid performance...
Although Wilson's Panglossian performance was undoubtedly intended to tranquilize the national case of nerves, it created more anxieties than it allayed. Press reaction ranged from mild ridicule to outright contempt. Said the Daily Express: "Mr. Wilson is no white man's Muhammad Ali. Instead he floats like a bee and stings like a butterfly...
Hardly a man to make Panglossian predictions, Greenspan foresees an 8% inflation rate in the fourth quarter and "turgid" industrial growth and slimmer profit margins in 1975. In order to begin moving toward stabilizing the economy by 1976, he says, decisions for doing so must be made now. To help make those decisions, Greenspan is willing to take his quarter-of-a-million-dollar pay cut. "We are at a major crossroad," he says. "The actions taken in the next year or two will have a significant impact on where...
...checked vinyl-covered seats, red tweed weather-resistant carpeting, solid green jump seats and matching interior walls. Seat belts will be bright red and ceilings will be painted blue-with an occasional white cloud and colorful bird -symbolizing, no doubt, New York's sky-high fares. Says a Panglossian spokesman for Helen (named for no one): "Driver reaction has been surprisingly great. The drivers feel that it will stimulate bright conversation with their passengers." Chiefs of Helen Maintenance are trying to persuade the Checker Co. of Kalamazoo, Mich., to make the spiffy interiors a standard item...
Retail prices in February spun up by .8%-a 22-year record that amounts to a grim 9.6% inflation rate on an annual basis. Herbert Stein, the usually Panglossian chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, conceded: "The news on prices has been...