Dan Gillmor sez, “When we report the ‘earnings’ of the 1%, the media are often distorting reality. The 99% should demand that we use more neutral — and accurate — words.”
To be sure, one of the meanings of “to earn” is “to profit financially” – but it is not the only one. The other major meaning is related to whether someone has deserved his or her gain, which may or may not be about money. Because the word has both connotations, we tend to attach both when the topic is about financial profits.
If we know anything about the recent income and accumulated assets of the now notorious 1%, it is that much of this wealth, by any rational standard, is undeserved. This applies especially to the Wall Street bankers who looted the global economy with sleazy tactics and, sadly, also with impunity.
That is why, if I was the editor in charge of any news organisation, I would flatly ban the use of the word “earned”, when “profited” or “made” (as in money) would be much more accurate, or at least neutral. I would not try to say who “deserved” profits; only that profits were made.
Occupy language: the struggle over meaning
(Thanks, Dan!)