fiscal cliff
noun phrase

- a situation in which a particular set of financial factors cause or threaten sudden and severe economic decline

- a situation in which sudden changes in government spending and tax have a big and sudden effect on a country's economy

- a combination of expiring tax cuts and across-the-board government spending cuts that create a looming imbalance in the federal budget and must be corrected to avert a crisis

Oxford Languages, Collins Dictionary, Investopedia

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The term "fiscal cliff" entered popular usage during the 2012 U.S. budget crisis, but it has an interesting earlier history.

The earliest documented use of the phrase in its modern economic context is attributed to Ben Bernanke, then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, who used it in testimony before Congress on February 29, 2012. He warned of a "massive fiscal cliff" that would occur at the beginning of 2013 when several tax cuts were set to expire simultaneously.

However, the metaphor was actually used earlier, in 1957, the New York Times used it to describe tax challenges facing New York City; and in the 1980s, it appeared occasionally in economic discussions.

The phrase combines "fiscal" (from Latin fiscus, meaning state treasury) and “cliff" (the dramatic geographic feature as metaphor for sudden danger)

The metaphor was particularly effective because it

- Conveyed immediate danger
- Suggested a sudden drop rather than a gradual decline
- Implied the difficulty of turning back once the edge was reached
- Was easily visualized by the public

The term gained massive media traction during the 2012 budget crisis, becoming Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year." It has since become a standard phrase in economic and political discourse for describing any sudden, dramatic fiscal deadline or crisis.

The metaphor's power lies in its suggestion that, like a physical cliff, the consequences of going over a fiscal one would be sudden and severe. However, some economists have argued that this metaphor is misleading, as economic changes are usually more gradual.

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REFRAMING THE FISCAL CLIFF

When things look bad, it’s sometimes helpful to remind ourselves of the other side. Here are 10 of our favourite spirit-lifters:

1. “When one door closes, another opens.” - Alexander Graham Bell

2. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein

3. “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus

4. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” - Henry Ford

5. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” - Rumi

6. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” - Viktor Frankl

7. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” - Charles R. Swindoll

9. “Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” - Maori Proverb

10. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible!” - Audrey Hepburn

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

for "cliff"

abutment, abyss, acclivity, bank, bluff, brink, brow, canyon wall, chasm, CLIFF, crag, crest, drop, drop-off, edge, escarpment, face, fall, fell, gorge wall, gulf, hanging valley, headland, height, hill, ledge, lip, overhang, overlook, peak, precipice, promontory, ridge, rim, rock face, scar, scarp, scaur, sheer drop, shelf, slope, steep, steepness, tor, verge, vertical drop, wall

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“The term ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ is popping up as clickbait a lot in the media these days.”

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