I have often wondered where the phrase "spinning a yarn" came from, and what differentiates the descriptive from the blunter, "making stuff up." This week's absurd spin, courtesy of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, finally inspired me to do a little search for it. Merriam-Webster theorizes that "it may be connected to the sailor's task of rope making," because of the path of the term's traceable usage through the maritime world. The tedious process of twisting fibers into yarns, yarns into strands, and then strands into rope by hand must have been torturous in the early 1800s, when the term first appeared in print. "It is likely that tales were told by the sailors while making rope, leading to the figurative use 'spinning a yarn' for storytelling." Piles of rope were apparently made in the Indiana Statehouse last week in response to the updated and gloomy revenue forecast. Some mysterious set of circumstances turned the December forecast of $800 million in growth for the next biennium into more than $2 billion of expected losses. Hmm. What changed? As reported by Arika Herron for Axios Indianapolis, "The dismal forecast is driven by slower than expected growth in jobs and wages, stock market declines and the effects of federal policies around tariffs, immigration and spending cuts." Uh, yea. That was as predictable as tomorrow's sunrise. But while the forecast is truly dismal, it is still just a forecast. There is no reason to be certain in it because the source of its dismal nature is uncertainty itself. Reality could be worse. And here's where the fibers-to-yarns process begins. Gov. Braun issued a statement the day the forecast was released. He said: "Today's forecast reflects what we are dealing with in the aftermath of disastrous Bidenflation. There will be some tough times ahead, but the America First economic policies we are pursuing here and in Washington will unleash an economic boom." Wow. In those two prepared sentences, and I emphasize that they were prepared, the Indiana governor is blaming the former president for the problem, acknowledging tough times ahead, and topping it off with baseless economic optimism that the state's own forecasters won't predict. That's an awful lot of rope.   Connect with Michael Leppert Visit michaelleppert.com to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter @michaelleppert  Facebook at Michael Leppert Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.  

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