Here's a question for the day. What is a "toxic asset"?
It occurred to me not long ago that the words “toxic asset” didn't seem to properly describe our government taking on so much bad debt. You cannot have an asset that costs you money. That's a liability. Nor can a liability be considered poisonous if it's earning money for its owner. So I paged through my dictionary for some clarity.
Toxic: adj. 1. of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a poison: a toxic condition. 2. acting as or having the effect of a poison; poisonous: a toxic drug.
Asset: n. 1. a useful and desirable thing or quality. 2. a single item of ownership having exchange value. 3. assets a. the total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, goodwill, or real estate (as opposed to liabilities). b. the items detailed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to liabilities and capital. c. all property available for the payment of debts, esp. of a bankrupt firm or person. d. property of a deceased that can be used to pay debts or legacies. 4. Slang. An undercover or secret agent; spy.
Oxymoron: n. pl. mora. A figure of speech that uses seeming contradictions, as “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”
From Randomhouse Webster's Dictionary, 1991.
I think the terminology that we should be hearing is "toxic liability."
2 comments:
Well put.
You know what they say...if pro is the opposite of con the progress is the opposite of congress.
I also like this one "If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and drycleaners depressed?"
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