Word: softener
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...cannot prevent the whims of the free market from leading to occasional pitfalls; we can soften the blow of these falls considerably by being prepared in advance and by easing the transition to a new economic base for cities and their working residents. If the Ford Motor Company has just discovered that Thunderbirds don't sell like they used to, so much the better--but surely several thousand workers should not be forced to suffer the consequences alone...
Japan must import 99.7% of its oil, as well as almost all the coal, iron ore and other raw materials needed to keep its production lines humming. To soften the blow of rising commodities prices, the triumvirate of banking, business and government has pursued a subtly effective policy of slowing the growth of resource-intensive industries such as steel and petrochemicals, and channeling more of the nation's capital into "knowledge-intensive" industries such as microelectronics and computers. That is one reason why, throughout most of the energy-dazed 1970s, Japan has held inflation relatively low and employment high...
...when baseball's age-old reserve clause was struck down. Under the court ruling, players could become free agents whenever they played out their options, and the teams they left were not entitled to compensation from the team they moved to. The next year, the players agreed to soften the blow to the owners: they signed a contract that called for a minimum of six years with a team before ballplayers could declare themselves free agents, and each club signing a player had to grant his old team a pick in the amateur draft...
...doing so. Second, Carter said that the U.S. could accept the most controversial paragraph, demanding the dismantling of all Israeli settlements, but only if McHenry expressed U.S. reservations about the wording after the vote. To many diplomats, that seemed an odd, unprofessional way of trying to soften a U.S. stand...
...Mayor Byrne and the firemen's union had not resolved their dispute. The jailing of the union's president, Frank Muscare, for failing to obey a back-to-work order outraged firemen, but most were eager to return to work and the union began to soften its demands. Meanwhile, Chicago was making do. The number of blazes was running slightly below average, and only three people had died from fires in the 17 days, no more than the normal rate. Said one striking fireman of the city's fortunate residents: "Mayor Daley must be looking over them...