Rima Grace

Local governments and cities and towns are the ones with the most control over how much housing gets built.

Local governments and cities and towns are the ones with the most control over how much housing gets built.

And Vanessa Perry at the George Washington University School of Business says local officials could help improve housing affordability by making it easier to build more homes more quickly.

And Vanessa Perry at the George Washington University School of Business says local officials could help improve housing affordability by making it easier to build more homes more quickly.

But Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, says getting people to support those kinds of changes is often a hard sell.

But Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, says getting people to support those kinds of changes is often a hard sell.

A lot of people say no.

A lot of people say no.

I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.

I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.

You could say that the economy has its own kind of language.

You could say that the economy has its own kind of language.

There are the usual words you hear a lot on this show, like inflation, of course, growth, wages.

There are the usual words you hear a lot on this show, like inflation, of course, growth, wages.

But then there are phrases like soft landing or labor market churn, terms that are maybe a little metaphorical.

But then there are phrases like soft landing or labor market churn, terms that are maybe a little metaphorical.

So today we wanted to take a step back for a retrospective on the history of econ language.

So today we wanted to take a step back for a retrospective on the history of econ language.

Marketplace's Sean McHenry has that one.

Marketplace's Sean McHenry has that one.