Jawboning

"Jawboning" or "moral suasion" in economics and politics is an unofficial technique of public and private discussions and arm-twisting, which may work by the implicit threat of future government regulation. In America during the Democratic administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson officials tried to deal with the mounting inflationary pressures by direct government influence or jawboning. Wage-price guideposts were established, and the power of the presidency was used to push businesses and labor into going along with these guideposts. The term attracted some derision and is often associated with the Biblical story, in Judges 15:15, of Samson slaying a thousand of his enemies using the jawbone of an ass. Alfred E. Kahn, an economic advisor to President Carter, was particularly known for his dislike of the method.