Advances in the History of Rhetoric May 2018

The Econo-Rhetorical Presidency and the U.S. Fiscal Situation

William O. Saas Louisiana State University

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay expands James Aune’s theory of the econo-rhetorical presidency to analyze how presidents define the U.S. fiscal situation. By “fiscal situation,” I refer to any rhetorical representation of the federal government’s ability to create and spend money, levy and collect taxes, and issue debt. Through historical analysis of the “balanced budget” topos in presidential discourse, I find that Presidents Carter through Obama tended to define the U.S. fiscal situation in austere terms, with balanced budgets figured as deontological goods unto themselves. I conclude by advocating for increased critical engagement with economic theory, generally, and theories of the U.S. fiscal situation, specifically.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2018-05-04
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2018.1474046
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (45) · 1 in this index

  1. Aune
    Prospect of Presidential Rhetoric
  2. Barnett, Jessica (2017)
    “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2016
  3. Baroud, Hiba . “Measuring up U.S. Infrastructure against Other Countries.” The Conversation, 28 Jul…
  4. Beasley (2010)
    The Rhetorical Presidency Meets the Unitary Executive: Implications for Presidential Rhet…
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  5. Bell, Stephanie . “Functional Finance: What, Why, How?” Levy Economics Institute Working Paper, no.…
Show all 45 →
  1. Bush, George H. W. “Address on Administration Goals before a Joint Session of Congress.” George Bu…
  2. Bush, George H. W. . “Letter to Congressional Leaders on the Balanced Budget Amendment.” The Americ…
  3. Bush, George H. W. . “Radio Address to the Nation on the Balanced Budget Amendment.” Gerhard Peters…
  4. Bush, George H. W. “Statement on Signing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.” Gerhard Pe…
  5. Bush, George W . “Address before a Joint Session of Congress on Administration Goals.” Gerhard Pete…
  6. Bush, George W . “Remarks to the Leaders of the Fiscal Responsibility Coalition.” Gerhard Peters an…
  7. Campbell (2008)
    Presidents Creating the Presidency: Deeds Done in Words
  8. Clinton, William J . “Farewell Address to the Nation.” GPO, 18Jan. 2001, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/…
  9. Clinton, William J . “Remarks on Signing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.” GPO, 10Aug…
  10. Clinton, William J . “Statement on Signing the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.” GPO, 5Aug. 1997, https…
  11. Crockett (2003)
    George W. Bush and the Unrhetorical Rhetorical Presidency
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  12. Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle . “The Number of People Defaulting on Federal Student Loans Is Climbing.”…
  13. Forstater (2003)
    Reinventing Functional Finance: Transformational Growth and Full Employment
  14. Hanan (2014)
    Banking on the Present: The Ontological Rhetoric of Neo-Classical Economics and Its Relat…
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  15. Herring (2016)
    The Rhetoric of Credit, the Rhetoric of Debt: Economic Arguments in Early Ameri…
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  16. Houck (2001)
    Rhetoric as Currency: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression. Texas A&M UP
  17. Kelton, Stephanie .“Congress Can Give Every American a Pony (If it Breeds Enough Ponies).” LA Times…
  18. Kelton, Stephanie . “Deficit Doves Meet the Deficit Owls.” New Economic Perspectives, 21July2010, h…
  19. Keynes (1971)
    MacMillan
    The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes
  20. Kiewe (1991)
    A Shining City on a Hill: Ronald Reagan’s Economic Rhetoric, 1951–1989
  21. Krugman, Paul . “MMT, Again.” New York Times, 15. Aug2011, https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0…
  22. Kuehl (2012)
    The Rhetorical Presidency and ‘Accountability’ in Education Reform: Comparing the Preside…
    Southern Communication Journal  ↗
  23. Langdon, David S., Terence M.McMenamin, and Thomas J.Krolik. “U.S. Labor Market in 2001: Economy Enters a Rec…
  24. Lerner (1943)
    Functional Finance and the Federal Debt
    Social Research
  25. Long, Heather . “Trump’s Tall Task: Finding Jobs for America’s ‘Forgotten People.” CNN, 3 May 2017,…
  26. Longaker (2015)
    Rhetorical Style and Bourgeoisie Virtue: Capitalism and Civil Society in the British Enli…
  27. MacFarlane (2016)
    Visualizing the Rhetorical Presidency: Barack Obama in the Situation Room
    Visual Communication Quarterly  ↗
  28. Matthews, Dylan . “You Know the Deficit Hawks. Now Meet the Deficit Owls.” Washington Post, 19Feb. …
  29. Nersisyan, Yeva, and L.Randall Wray. “Deficit Hysteria Redux? Why We Should Stop Worrying About U.S. Governme…
  30. Obama, Barack . “Remarks at the Fiscal Responsibility Summit.” GPO, 23 Feb. 2009, https://www.gpo.g…
  31. Obama, Barack . “Remarks on Signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Denver, C…
  32. Obama, Barack . “Statement on House of Representatives Action on Pay-As-You-Go Legislation.” GPO, 2…
  33. Ronald Reagan . “Statement on Signing the Bill Increasing the Public Deb…
  34. Savage (1990)
    Balanced Budgets & American Politics
     ↗
  35. Scacco (2016)
    The Ubiquitous Presidency: Toward a New Paradigm for Studying Presidential Communication
    International Journal of Communication
  36. Schick (1980)
    Congress and Money
  37. Stuckey (2008)
    Jimmy Carter, Human Rights, and the National Agenda. Texas A&M UP
  38. Stuckey (2010)
    Rethinking the Rhetorical Presidency and Presidential Rhetoric
    The Review of Communication  ↗
  39. Wray (2015)
    Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems
     ↗
  40. Zarefsky (2004)
    Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition
    Presidential Studies Quarterly  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Apr 2026
    What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Constructing Risk at Advanced Maternal Age ↗
    Melissa Carrion
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    Multi-Methodological, Multiply Ontological: Pivoting Methodologies in Rhetorical Analysis of Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) ↗
    Paige Welsh; S. Scott Graham
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  4. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  5. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing