CNN's Velshi Ignores Treasury Chief's Warnings on Regulation

Business & Media Institute ^ | November 21, 2006 | Ken Shepherd

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Further regulating the economy could threaten economic growth, and heavy litigation is an “Achilles heel for our economy,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned the Economic Club of New York in a November 20 speech. Yet the warning was left out of “American Morning” business coverage the following day, even as reporter Ali Velshi had time to squeeze in a story related to Charmin bath tissue.

While Paulson’s remarks earned coverage on page A2 of the November 21 Wall Street Journal and the front of the business sections of same day’s New York Times and Washington Post, they were ignored by reporter Ali Velshi during his “Minding Your Business” updates.

“Excessive regulation slows innovation, imposes needless costs on investors, and stifles competitiveness and job creation,” Washington Post reporter Carrie Johnson quoted Paulson from his November 20 speech.

Paulson’s comments came 11 days after former Clinton Treasury chief Robert Rubin suggested in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington that tax increases were needed to plug the federal budget deficit.

Velshi did take time to focus on a new report by the National Association of Realtors showing a cooling housing market, but the Canadian-raised religious studies graduate also entertained viewers with a story about the makers of Charmin toilet paper sponsoring bathroom stalls in New York’s Times Square.

“Mayor Bloomberg says after schools and the city budget, public restrooms are his biggest challenge,” Velshi noted.