“Consumers?” Watch Your Language!

OK, I consume razor blades, Pinot Noir and paper towels. Stretch the definition of "consumer" a bit – almost everybody does – and you might say I consume certain services: lawn-mowing … oil changes … online banking and brokerage.

But we have to draw the line somewhere. "Consumers" is not an exact synonym for "Americans" or "citizens" or "people." And the hapless soul who wrote this blurb for the WSJ web site should know that it's sure as expletive-deleted not a synonym for "taxpayers."