One repugnant thing I’ve noticed about cable TV news during this Wall Street-fueled economalypse that we’re struggling through is that talking heads–and not just on business channels–have taken to using the word “consumer” in place of “citizen,” not only when they’re talking about consumption but in almost every instance. It’s gross, as if we’re just so many credit card swipes and little else. Erin Burnett, the former Goldman Sachs analyst who recently brought her sense of privilege to CNN, is particularly egregious with this usage. I love commerce and business innovations and product design, but it’s horrifying that we’ve been gradually and quietly reduced to the sum of our purchases instead of the sum of all we are.