Media reports on polling reinforce public's view of deficit, rather than informing it
SUMMARY: Media reports on polls indicating public concern over the federal budget deficit did not report the view among prominent economists that the government's response to recession should be spending and not deficit reduction.
Recent reports by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CBS, and NBC on their polls indicating public concern over the federal budget deficit did not report the view among prominent economists that the government's response to recession should be spending and not deficit reduction. Indeed, Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, among others, attributes the reversal of the economic recovery under way during the New Deal to pressure on President Franklin D. Roosevelt to balance the budget. Rather than note that many economists dispute the notion that the government's top priority now should be reducing the deficit, these media outlets reported only the public's fear and concern on the subject. And given their failure even to mention that prominent economists do not share the public's view on economic priorities, it follows that they made no mention of the media's role in creating this public perception as well as their role now in reinforcing it through their flawed reporting.
In a February 15 op-ed, economist Mark Zandi dismissed concerns about the increased deficit spending needed to finance the stimulus package, arguing instead that the package was "too small":
There are concerns that the stimulus plan's $789 billion price tag is too large. To pay for it we will have to borrow the money, adding significantly to the government's debt load. But without a stimulus, the depression would undermine tax revenue and fuel more government spending, producing even larger deficits and debt burdens.
It is fortunate that we are still the global economy's triple-A credit; even though this calamity began in the United States, global investors still prefer the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. We will thus be able to borrow the money at record-low interest rates.
Indeed, my most significant criticism of the current stimulus plan is that it is too small.
Our struggling economy will produce nearly $1 trillion less than it is capable of this year and will underperform again by at least as much in 2010. The $789 billion in spending and tax cuts to be distributed over those two years is not going to fill this expected hole in the economy. I would thus not be surprised if policymakers are forced to consider a second stimulus plan soon.
Nonetheless, when combined with other aggressive policy steps, including efforts to shore up the financial system and stem foreclosures, this fiscal-stimulus plan will go a long way toward relieving the current economic crisis.
Media Matters for America has written extensively about the media's advancement of conservative views on the economy and attacks on progressives through their flawed coverage of the recession and efforts to address it. The reporting of the poll questions offers further examples:
* On June 18, the Journal reported that Obama "faces new concerns among the American public about the budget deficit and government intervention in the economy" and that "[a] solid majority -- 58% -- said that the president and Congress should focus on keeping the budget deficit down, even if takes longer for the economy to recover." The Journal added that the "results come after weeks of Republican hammering of Mr. Obama for spending too much" -- an argument, according to the Journal, that appears "to be resonating with some voters" -- and that "[t]he president and his advisers appear to be aware of the peril they face over the deficit." Yet the Journal did not report that prominent economists view the recession and job loss as a far more immediate problem than the deficit and stress that spending -- not deficit reduction -- in the short run is what is necessary to turn the economy around.
* The previous night, Chuck Todd discussed the NBC/Journal poll results on NBC's Nightly News and said: "[T]he honeymoon's coming to an end for President Obama, but it's not personal, it's professional, as now the public appears to be judging the president on some of his actions. And right now, there's a growing concern about the budget deficit." He later added, "A substantial majority, 58 percent, say the government should focus more on controlling the budget deficit than on boosting the economy." While commenting on what the poll might signify for Obama, at no point did Todd note that many economists disagree with the view by a majority of respondents that the deficit should be a higher priority than "boosting the economy.
