How the media enable the Republican tax agenda
By Mike Lofgren, Nieman Watchdog, Commentary, January 18, 2012
Mike Lofgren, the former Republican congressional staffer who recently decried the descent of the GOP into lunacy, blames the press for not holding politicians accountable for their budgetary flimflam in the service of the rich. The result: A miserably misinformed public.
The media doesn't seem to understand the basics about budgets — and the inescapable relationship between aggregate revenues, aggregate spending, and total deficits. Either that, or reporters just choose to play dumb. The end result is the same, however: Journalists don't probe deeply — or they probe when it is too late to matter — into budget proposals and their real-world consequences (as opposed to regurgitating the talking points politicians issue to “explain” them). They are also generally unaware of easily obtainable historical data and historical trends, and how these predict the likely outcome of current fiscal policy choices.
Read full article with graphics.
Phi Beta Iota: There are exactly two honest plans out there, one is Ron Paul's Plan to Restore America and the other one is from We the People Reform Coalition that adopts the Automated Payment Transaction (APT) Tax that REPLACES all other taxes, is super-progressive, and explodes the revenue pie by placing a TINY tax on all stock and currency transactions. The media is partially corrupt, partially inattentive, and partially stupid. Romney is a fraud, so is Obama, and if the theater plays out as we anticipate, Jeb Bush will rise from the ashes of the totally corrupt Republican Party–whether that will inspire a third wave that trashes the two-party tyranny remains to be seen.
