On March 12, a front-page article in the New York Times warned that the value of the federal government’s debt, if Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security obligations are included, totals $79 trillion—yes, with a T. Less than three weeks later, another front-page Times article (3/30/10) alerted readers that states’ pension obligations to public employees tops $5 trillion. Truly shocking figures, especially when the size of the entire U.S. economy is a measly $14 trillion. These articles exemplify a trend in mainstream media discussions of budget deficits and state debt that make sensational and deeply conservative assertions about the costs of [...]
Search Results for: Doug Henwood
Nov
01
2008
Busted Bubble
The press fell down on the job on housing prices
Over the summer, the country's two mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, collapsed, marking the definitive bursting of the housing bubble that began in the mid-1990s. Although it was the second major economic bubble in less than a decade, most in corporate media ignored the warning signs. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) and author of the American Prospect blog Beat the Press, told Extra!: "It continues to be this sort of bad-event story," with corporate media and the select group of economists on whom they rely acting as though "a hurricane came [...]
May
26
2006
Aaron Glantz on Iraq, Doug Henwood on immigration
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: George Bush cheered the new government in Iraq as "a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror," but the White House’s optimistic view of Iraq is meeting with some media resistance, even in mainstream outlets. Independent journalist Aaron Glantz will join us to talk about the coverage and the situation in Iraq. Also on the program: With some of the people making anti-immigration arguments these days it’s pretty clear their position rests on fear or plain old prejudice. But what about people who say they only oppose immigration because of the negative [...]
