"We're focused on doing the things that make the economy perform well, and as you do that, reduce deficits, for one, very important; secondly, keep growth rates high, very important"
About this Quote
Technocratic optimism, delivered like a checklist: make the economy "perform well", shrink deficits, keep growth "high". John W. Snow isn’t trying to inspire; he’s trying to naturalize a policy worldview where the right levers, pulled in the right order, yield stability. The repetition of "very important" is telling. It functions as a substitute for argument, a verbal highlighter meant to signal prudence and seriousness without specifying trade-offs. The sentence is all process and no pain.
The intent is to project steady managerial competence. In the early-2000s Treasury context Snow occupied, markets crave predictability and voters crave reassurance, especially when deficits are politically radioactive. So "reduce deficits" appears as a moral credential - proof the administration can do arithmetic - even as the real debate is always about what counts as deficit reduction: spending cuts, revenue increases, or a bet that growth will outpace borrowing. His structure quietly stacks the deck: growth first as the master solution, deficits as something that can be reduced "as you do that". Subtext: if you get growth right, the fiscal problem becomes secondary, almost automatic.
What makes it work rhetorically is its vagueness masquerading as precision. "The things that make the economy perform well" could mean tax policy, deregulation, trade, interest rates, or discipline in federal spending; the phrase invites listeners to insert their preferred recipe. Snow’s language is calibrated to unify a coalition - deficit hawks, pro-growth conservatives, business leaders - while dodging the messy question of who pays, who benefits, and what happens when "keep growth rates high" conflicts with deficit reduction.
The intent is to project steady managerial competence. In the early-2000s Treasury context Snow occupied, markets crave predictability and voters crave reassurance, especially when deficits are politically radioactive. So "reduce deficits" appears as a moral credential - proof the administration can do arithmetic - even as the real debate is always about what counts as deficit reduction: spending cuts, revenue increases, or a bet that growth will outpace borrowing. His structure quietly stacks the deck: growth first as the master solution, deficits as something that can be reduced "as you do that". Subtext: if you get growth right, the fiscal problem becomes secondary, almost automatic.
What makes it work rhetorically is its vagueness masquerading as precision. "The things that make the economy perform well" could mean tax policy, deregulation, trade, interest rates, or discipline in federal spending; the phrase invites listeners to insert their preferred recipe. Snow’s language is calibrated to unify a coalition - deficit hawks, pro-growth conservatives, business leaders - while dodging the messy question of who pays, who benefits, and what happens when "keep growth rates high" conflicts with deficit reduction.
Quote Details
| Topic | Money |
|---|
More Quotes by John
Add to List
