Dean Baker's Blog, page 565

When It Comes to Argentina's Economy, the NYT Redefines "Stagnant"

NYT readers must have been stunned to see the second paragraph of an article on the prospects for shale oil in Argentina refer to "the country's long-stagnant economy."

According to data from the IMF, Argentina's economy grew at almost an 8 percent annual rate from 2003 to 2008, following a severe recession in 1998-2002. The world economic crisis brought its economy to a standstill in 2009, but it grew by 9.2 percent last year and is projected to grow 6.0 percent this year. This is stagnant?

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NPR Does the He Said/She Said on Minnesota Shutdown

It is not balanced reporting to present a Republican legislator from Minnesota talking about spiraling state spending and then present someone else talking about state services. Most NPR listeners will not have the time to look up the data on state spending in Minnesota. NPR's reporter should.

If NPR had done its job, it would have pointed out that there has been no upward trend in state spending. Therefore when the Republicans complain about out of control or spiraling spending, they are...

Greg Mankiw and Monty Python

One of the great skits from the days of Monty Python's Flying Circus was the, "Stake Your Claim Game Show." The first contestant on this show is introduced as claiming that he wrote the complete works of Shakespeare.

By asking the contestant's age, the host is able to quickly determine that works of Shakespeare were known for several hundred years before he was born. At that point the contestant acknowledges that this is where his claim breaks down and concedes that the host is more than the ...

Tax Increases and Do They Ever Fire Headline Writers?

The headline of the NYT story told readers:

"2 Republicans Open Door to Increases in Revenue." 

However, the second paragraph of the article said:

"One of the senators, John Cornyn of Texas, said he would consider eliminating some tax breaks and corporate subsidies in the context of changes in the tax code, provided there was not an overall increase in taxes."

Okay folks, "not an overall increase in revenue" directly contradicts "increases in revenue."

What the hell is so hard to...

Will the Washington Post Ever Learn Trade Theory?

The lead editorial in the Post tells us that they very upset that Congress has not approved the trade deals negotiated with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The Post of course wrongly refers to them as "free-trade" deals. This is inaccurate since they do little or nothing to reduce the trade barriers that protect highly educated professionals (e.g. doctors and lawyers) and actually increase protection in many areas (e.g. patents and copyrights).

The Post also is more than a little off-base ...

George Will Spreads Some Lies About the Economic Crisis

It really is incredible to see such a concerted effort to rewrite history in front of our faces. There is not much ambiguity in the story of the housing bubble. The private financial sector went nuts. They made a fortune issuing bad and often fraudulent loans which they could quickly resell in the secondary market. The big actors in the junk market were the private issuers like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Lehman Brothers. However, George Will and Co. are determined to blame this disaster

Okay, the Post Beats the NYT for Awful Reporting on Minnesota's Budget Crisis

The Washington Post once again shows why it is known as "Fox on 15th Street." It begins an article on the government shutdown in Minnesota:

"There is a giant gap between what many of the world's governments have promised and what they can afford. Now, the headlines from the across the United States and overseas show what happens when the clunky machinery of democracy goes about trying to close that gap.

The latest: The Minnesota government shut down Friday, locking families out of state...

Minnesota Does Not Have Runaway Spending and NYT Readers Should Know This Fact

It is irresponsible to run a story with a statement from one politician saying it is sunny and warm in Alaska and another saying that actually the temperature is below zero and it's snowing. There are real conditions in Alaska that the reporter should know and be able to tell readers. This information will let readers know that one politician is being largely truthful, while one is not. Reporters who have a job reporting the news have the time to find out about the actual weather conditions i...

Deflating the Post's Deflation Fears

It's always fun to read the Post's editorials on economic issues, since you never know what you might find. For example, it recently told readers that reducing the annual cost of living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries by 0.3 percentage points annually (i.e. 3 percent after 10 years, 6 percent after 20 years, and 9 percent after 30 years) "won't hurt."

Today we get the Post's assessment of the Fed's QE2 policy. It praises the policy for preventing deflation, which it says was a...

They are Just Trade Agreements, not "Free-Trade" Agreements

The trade agreements negotiated with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, do not free all trade (doctors are still protected) and they increase protections in some areas, most importantly by increasing protection for intellectual property. This means that is inaccurate to call them "free trade" agreements as the Post does in this article. It is understandable that advocates would use this phrase; it does not belong in a news story.