Posted on 10/11/2006 1:27:06 PM PDT by freemarket_kenshepherd
With less than four weeks to the midterm elections, CNN is giving resident populist Lou Dobbs more room to trash the American economy, the Bush tax cuts, and free trade.
Associated Press television writer David Bauder noted in an October 10 article that anchor “Dobbs’ weeknight news show will expand to seven days a week, with the two weekend editions presenting highlights of the week’s reporting beginning Oct. 28.”
“Dobbs is also anchoring three pre-election special reports: ‘War on the Middle Class’ on Oct. 18, ‘Broken Borders’ on Oct. 25 and ‘Democracy at Risk: E-voting's Threat’ on Oct. 29,” Bauder noted.
But viewers don’t have to wait that long for even more Lou. With an October 10 appearance on “Larry King Live” and an interview the next day on “American Morning,” the business reporter has already begun peddling his just-published “War on the Middle Class.”
While King is famous for his decidedly non-hardball approach to interviewing, Dobbs received a similarly soft reception on the October 11 “American Morning.”
Anchor Soledad O’Brien began by urging Dobbs to give viewers some election advice. “Is there one direction you think politically the middle class is leaning or should be leaning,” O’Brien wondered.
Dobbs insisted he is frustrated with both Democrats and Republicans before slamming the Bush tax cuts “since 2001, have all benefited, disproportionately, the wealthy in this country.”
“Not exactly a surprise there,” O’Brien quipped before asking Dobbs for “ways in which the middle class has been underserved or poorly served by Republicans.”
O’Brien also noted that Dobbs also has a “litany of failures” from Democrats in “letting down the middle class,” but didn’t press Dobbs to enumerate any of those policies.
At no point in her interview did O’Brien cite any economists who vehemently disagree with Lou’s assessment of the American economy, of the Bush tax cuts, or his desire to limit free trade.
The Business & Media Institute (BMI) has frequently documented Dobbs’s use of his program to further an anti-free trade agenda.
For example, in August 2005, BMI published a study that found that 89 percent of stories on U.S.-China commerce slammed the trade relationship, leaving out even token opposition to Dobbs’s anti-trade stance. The same study also found Dobbs often confused his ideological leanings for fact, asserting the trade deficit was “literally choking economic growth” even though the economy has steadily been growing and inexpensive imports have helped to boost the American standard of living.
Dobbs will have to explain to me how everyone getting a tax cut benefits only the wealthy?
Thank God nobody watches CNN!
When they say "wealthy" they mean "upper middle class". Truly wealthy people tend have lots of assets, not much income (relatively speaking).
And everybody loved him so much just a few months back. ;-)
OK Dems repeal the tax cuts and see how many of those rich companies that got the cuts lay people off because rich people are a lot of things but dumb ain't one of them.
He's using sophistry...basically, Dobbs is misleading the uninformed.
1. If your wealthy odds are you pay a lot of tax, so, let's say you are in the highest marginal tax bracket 39.6%....so...if you are paying tens of thousands of dollars in taxes to the government...it is only logical that a 1% cut in the rate, as logic would dictate you would save a fair bit of cash because your base is higher...
If you are in the lower brackets...u r not really paying that much tax to begin within...so, the percentage savings is relative...
Dobbs is running a mathematics game in regard to taxes as a percentage of income relative to tax bracket. His premise is that even amongst the rich that pay a lot in taxes...they are still rich, so, taxes arent a great expense for them, relative to income, so any saving for the rich is an added boon....this is flawed logic...because, percentages are relative to income tax bracket, and then relative to earnings...Dobbs will leave that part out.
Dobbs will also leave out the point, that one can better their financial position in the US by finding opportunity etc...and bettering one's station in life...and tax cuts, help more capital to be put back in this effort...
Quite frankly, Dobbs is an agendized idiot that needs baseball bat diplomacy.
I am so sick of this "Only the rich got tax cuts" crap! Is the liberal voter base that freakin' stupid and easily duped!
Child credit from $500 to $1000! I guess only the rich have children???
The income bracket that got the largest percentage cut was the 30-40K range. That's pretty freakin' Middle Class Lou. And don't forget, the AMT was lowered so that a duel income family making $100,000 paid more in taxes after the tax cut than before. This can be found in Fortune Magazine about The Henry's; High Earners Not Rich Yet.
Again, as with most talking heads in the mass media, they prey upon the uninformed...that's how they mislead.
If everyone was politically, historically, factually, and financially savy...the Democrat Party wouldnt exist, Dobbs wouldnt have a job, and their would be only one news channel...
Lou went loulou a while back.
Cutting the "marginal rate" does not effect people not paying that rate.
There are none the less reasons it might be a smart thing to do. That is the "supply side" argument.
In any case Bush's tax cut effected all taxpayers, not just the marginal rate.
I know we pay at least 2k less in tax since the tax cuts. That is a vacation for us.
I think Dobbs basic point is that the middle class has stagnant wage growth, or is going backwards in real money.
He tries to make the case that the "globalization" has allowed companies to reduce labor costs by offshoring, continue charging the same prices for goods and services, and ramp up profits.
What is left out of this happy circle of prosperity are the middle class, which he defines as 90% of Americans (this is from memory, so excuse me if the % is not exact).
The middle class is being sacraficed to global profits, which flow to the few. Good high wage jobs are disapearing in the uneven competition with low wage, corrupt, slave states like Mexico and Indonesia.
It is Buchananism, almost to a tee. Thom Hartman of Air America also has a book out on this. "Screwed".
This is a very popular meme with Liberals and is sure to be the Democratic center piece in 2008.
The funny thing to me is if this was true then I would expect America to look pretty shabby by now. Buchanan ran on this vs. GHW Bush in 1992. We're 15 years into the hollowing out of America, but everywhere you go you see big houses, plasma TVs, new cars and full shopping malls.
Hmmm. Still class warfare and jealosy still sell. It certainly is better than gay marraige, gun banning, abortion is a sacred obligation, unilateral disarmament in the face of tyrants or Bush is Hitler - which are their other choices.
Why not watch something inspiring and uplifting, as those shows are for the imbeciles and ignorant???
Lou - b*te us all.
Perhaps my wording was incorrect. The tax brackets were all recduced by ~2.5%, i.e. 28% - 2.5%, etc..
LOL!
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