Great Sounding Statement But Is It?

Patrick Rooney, the interim director of Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, the major think thank for Philanthropic last summer wrote regarding the uncertain economic times and charitable giving, “For overall giving, historical precedent suggests the economy’s impact might not be as dire as popular opinion might indicate. In light of financial market upheavals, though, we could be heading into uncharted waters that may or may not follow precedent. The picture is mixed right now. At this point it’s not doom and gloom, but its important for nonprofits to monitor the situation and their individual circumstances. Different types of nonprofits and different regions of the country may be affected differently.” (Philanthropy Matters, Vol 16, Issue 2)

There are a lot of “may” and “might” statements in the quote. With all due respect to the learned Dr. Rooney, the statement sounds like it is something but it is nothing short of a convoluted string of equivocations that really say, “I have not idea what is going to happen.” In the article there are strings of numbers from the past, but not analysis or probative explorations behind the figures. Dr. Rooney takes no real stand and gives no guidence. His statement is similar to those of a palm reader, a bit of everything with so many sweeping statements and escape clauses that no matter what happens he can claim that he was right all along. And his quote stands as a prime example of sounding great but no real content.