When is a Spending Cut a Spending Cut?
September 6, 2012 at 4:25 pm in News by Tea Party Patriots 10 Comments
As Tea Party Patriots know, many in the media have a liberal bias. This was prominently showcased in 2008, as Sarah Palin was treated to the worst of that bias while President Obama was given close to a free ride. This year, Mitt Romney is being given similar treatment.
During last week’s convention, however, CBS showcased a subtler form of bias – semantics. Here is an example (emphasis added):
Romney has made a core promise to cut $500 billion per year from the federal budget by 2016….
His campaign manifesto, however, is almost completely devoid of the “hard truths” Christie promises. In fact, Romney is promising to reverse $716 billion in Medicare savings achieved by Obama over the coming decade and promises big increases in military spending as well, along with extending tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthiest.
The few specifics Romney offers include repealing Obama’s health care law, cutting federal payrolls, weaning Amtrak from subsidies, cutting foreign aid and curbing the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled….
What’s left for Romney to cut is benefit programs other than Medicare and Social Security, which include food stamps, welfare, farm subsidies and retirement benefits for federal workers. The remaining pot of money includes the day-to-day budgets of domestic agencies, which have already borne cuts under last year’s budget deal.
Just these five paragraphs have substantial semantic bias in them. To wit:
- According to CBS, Romney wants to “cut” spending. But Obama “achieved” savings in Medicare. Clearly, they are the same thing, but the language used to describe Romney’s efforts is far more negative.
- The savings Obama “achieved” are anything but. They are, in fact, cuts to the program.
- CBS states Romney wants to extend “tax cuts for everyone.” This is true. However, stating this and adding “including the wealthiest” is both repetitive and is part of the narrative Obama is using to portray Romney as out of touch.
- Romney’s plans for Medicaid are cuts “for the poor and disabled.” But Obama’s cuts aren’t targeting seniors through rationing?
- Domestic agencies have indeed “borne cuts” through the Budget Control Act from last year. (Well, not cuts – a cut in the expected annual increase in spending. Another bias using inaccurate language.) However, this section of the article fails to note that defense also bore some significant reductions in spending.
Compared to a number of other articles, op-eds, etc. from allegedly neutral news organizations, this CBS fact-checking is far less overt in its bias. However, this potentially makes it more harmful when it comes to educating the public – after all, adding the title “fact-checker” ostensibly adds more value to something in the form of public trust. Failing to maintain the necessary objectivity while fact-checking does a disservice to those looking for the facts.
It seems to me that it is BIG GOVERNMENT with BIG PROMISES that got us into this mess.
Economy means “Flow of Money”. But, if the money goes down the drain, everyone suffers.
The government is the drain.
“Starve the Beast (c)”
You took the words right out of my mouth.
starve the beast? so would you both rather have people homeless and on the streets? Do you want to voucher SS? where do you have your pensions? didn’t you lose money with the economic downfall that happened under G.W. Bush? Should we let corporations get all the breaks, get their hands on SS and medicare and then make profits for ourselves and leave us with nothing? Or are you not people and both corporations?
MIMI! What exactly are the corporations supposed to “get their hands on”?!? SS and MEDICARE and UNFUNDED entitlements–they are a substantial DEBT that our country owes, not some big pile of money sitting in a warehouse somewhere. IT DOESN’T MATTER whether I (or Eric or Kathy) would personally “rather have people homeless and on the streets” BECAUSE WE CAN’T AFFORD YOUR LOFTY IDEALS!
so u tell me; since ur hand is out; and say give me give me; why dont u say i will do it my self; and i will not let no one dictate to me; i can not stand someone that is lazy; dont ask what i can do for u; ask what i can do for myself;
I think a great step in going forward would be to stop the automatic budget increases – and the “use it or lose it” budgetary farce. Built-in annual increases are the norm in DC and that ought to stop – that needs to stop. When department heads or politicians scream that they are getting a budget cut, more often than not it is only the fact that they didn’t get the complete increase they desired. In fact, they almost never get a cut in the actual budget. Additionally, if an agency gets $100 million (for example) and spends only $90 million for the year and then scrambles to spend the extra $10 before the fiscal year is up just to ensure they get the same amount and then some for the next fiscal year, is wrong as well. The money ought to be saved, not spent. But that doesn’t happen.
What I want is a budget, a Balanced budget.where income and outgo are the same.
then we need to clean house and senate and congress and pres; lets vote with our hearts and brain; with the respect of the people; and put in jail the people that made this mess; like poloisi; harry reid; barney frank; dodd; and so one; and the big one the puppet that can lead but has to follow;
If the average business handeled their money the same way that the government handles
ours , the business would have all gone bankrupt in a very short time. There wouldn,t be any.
And what kind of a nation are we -that thinks that abourtion is the answer to Birth Control.
How can people live with themselves after butchering their own children in the womb just for their own convenience?
And why has Oboma not been impeached for not liveing up to his pledge to uphold the Constution created by our founders. He did promise to do that when he took the oath of office!
I totally agree Gail…. This so called president has shamed Americans. He has taken everything we believe in and tried to make it bad. He has gone around the Senate and Congress when he couldn’t get his way….. this is someone that believes that he is more knowledgeable than anyone else if they can’t see his vision. HIs vision is to make all of us dependent on the government and then he can rule us as other countries rule their people. Why is our media afraid to say the truth about him and his background. Why does no one know that he and his wife gave up their rights to be lawyers to prevent having charges brought up against them. Are we Americans so blind to the fact that this man HATES AMERICA and he wants to see it ruined????? Please wake up before this place that we love is ran by a dictator. And as far as having Clinton speak for him…. give me a break that man is a joke…. remember the affairs, the people that died that knew about his and Hillary’s past… he is as crooked as they come…. Look up his past and please look at Obama’s past… why is it he didn’t talk of his Father and Mother.??? just his white grandparents…. wake up…. we need him out of the white house ASAP!!!!!