"If you need to put your money in a safe and secure place and you want it to earn interest, Treasury bonds are safer than putting it in any bank as a deposit or putting it anywhere else, because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government"
About this Quote
There is a salesman’s calm in Jim Cooper’s assurance: safety, interest, and a big paternal seal of approval. As a politician, he’s not just offering a portfolio tip; he’s performing confidence in the state itself. The line is built to convert jittery savers into willing lenders to the government, reframing a bond purchase as the most commonsense, even morally responsible, place to park cash.
The key rhetorical move is comparative, not absolute. Cooper doesn’t merely praise Treasuries; he demotes the alternatives. Banks, traditionally coded as the default “safe” option, get subtly recast as the riskier middleman. That matters in a world shaped by the memory of bank failures, recurring financial panics, and the modern reality that deposits are only as reassuring as the guarantees behind them. By elevating “full faith and credit,” he’s gesturing at the one backstop banks ultimately rely on anyway: sovereign power, taxation, and the machinery that can always find dollars when needed.
The subtext is a tidy piece of civic theology: the safest asset is belief in the U.S. government’s willingness and ability to pay. “Full faith” is doing double duty, describing both a legal promise and a psychological one. In periods of economic anxiety, inflation debates, or political brinkmanship over debt ceilings, that promise becomes a cultural battleground. Cooper’s intent is to close ranks around the idea that default is unthinkable - not because markets are always rational, but because national credibility is a public utility.
The key rhetorical move is comparative, not absolute. Cooper doesn’t merely praise Treasuries; he demotes the alternatives. Banks, traditionally coded as the default “safe” option, get subtly recast as the riskier middleman. That matters in a world shaped by the memory of bank failures, recurring financial panics, and the modern reality that deposits are only as reassuring as the guarantees behind them. By elevating “full faith and credit,” he’s gesturing at the one backstop banks ultimately rely on anyway: sovereign power, taxation, and the machinery that can always find dollars when needed.
The subtext is a tidy piece of civic theology: the safest asset is belief in the U.S. government’s willingness and ability to pay. “Full faith” is doing double duty, describing both a legal promise and a psychological one. In periods of economic anxiety, inflation debates, or political brinkmanship over debt ceilings, that promise becomes a cultural battleground. Cooper’s intent is to close ranks around the idea that default is unthinkable - not because markets are always rational, but because national credibility is a public utility.
Quote Details
| Topic | Investment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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