President Barack Obama’s budget message Monday shuns the word “spending.”
He refers to proposed new spending most often as “investing,” as in investing in children or teachers or national defense. He also prefers to say his budget “provides” things, such as child care.
In his budget message to Congress, he uses some form of the word “invest” 18 times. He uses some form of the word “provide” 7 times. He a variation of the word “spend” just three times, and none to describe his proposals.
A budget fact sheet sent out by the White House has a similar trend: 52 references to investing, 28 to providing, and just 6 to spending.
“The Budget invests in training for teachers,” he says in his personal message to Congress.
There’s “much more we can and should do to invest in areas like infrastructure, innovation, and education,” he says.
“Investments in technologies like solar,” he adds. “New investments and initiatives to improve all levels of education.”
“And it invests in the Government’s most important resource, its workers.”
His second favorite word choice is “provide.”
“The Budget also includes funding to provide access to high-quality infant and toddler care,” he says.
“It provides significant resources to support veterans’ medical care, help military families, assist soldiers transitioning to civilian life, reduce veterans’ homelessness, and reduce the disability claims backlog,” he says.
On “spending,” he uses it only to describe things other than his spending proposals for the 2016 budget.
“It will help the economy by giving businesses customers with more money to spend,” he says at one point.
“We have seen a notable and significant decline in health care spending growth over the last few years,” he says at another.