April 21, 2008

Unfortunate Money Matters

I was reflecting recently on the tax rebates being offered to the public as an economic stimulus. I don't claim to have any objective knowledge about whether the rebates will provide a desirable stimulus to the economy. Instead, I noted something odd about the major media coverage- nearly all of it seems to contain a person who says that the program is a bad idea for one reason or another. Maybe this is true; but why do the major media outlets have so few voices in favor of it?

To me, it smacks of partisan opposition. Surely there is at least one economist who thinks it might help the economy, yet it seems that the media wants to deliver us only bad news. It's odd, because often when politicians seek to use the government to give money to people, the media is in favor of it.

For example, President Franklin Roosevelt invented the government program known as Social Security, which takes money from some taxpayers and gives it to other taxpayers. This program is considered one of his major achievements. Similarly, President Roosevelt is lauded for the Works Progress Administration, which hired people to build public buildings, public roads, and other projects. These and other initiatives in Pres. Roosevelt's "New Deal" are generally credited with improving the economy until World War II definitively ended the Great Depression.

When our current president, however, dares to suggest that the government should give people money, the media is not in favor of it. They're convinced that it won't be effective in helping the economy, and trot out many experts to discredit the president's initiative.

It is highly suggestive of our major media outlets harboring a political vendetta against our current president, or at least against his political party and positions. How else are we to explain a media that lauds a Democratic president who ordered the government to give people money, and dismisses as an idiot a Republican president who orders the government to give people money?