Celebrating Lack of Knowledge of the Media

President Obama released his budget proposal for the next fiscal year this morning. So far, I have read seven different news accounts of the budget and none of them understand what is being presented. It is amazing that garbage like this gets spread on the internet and in the press. Here is the biggest problem: As of January 1, 2013, the current law changes the income tax brackets and rates back to what they were prior to the Bush tax cuts of 2001. Further, for 2013 and the years that follow, the Alternative Minimum Tax is also slated to go back to its original format with a huge increase in coverage and revenue resulting. At the same time, the amount paid to doctors by Medicare is required under current law to be cut by about 30%. In other words, if nothing is done to change current law, federal tax revenue will rise by well over $400 billion and Medicare expenses will fall dramatically; as a result, the deficit will come down by about half a trillion dollars for 2013.

The Obama budget released today stops most of these changes. Only the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for those making over $200,000 will be allowed to proceed. That move will mean that the deficit projected under current law will increase by about $430 billion dollars. That's right, Obama is calling for changes to INCREASE the deficit by about $430 billion. Now there are other spending initiatives in the Obama budget which will further balloon the deficit, some additional taxes on the wealthy to raise other funds, and some tiny spending cuts lumped into the Obama budget as well. None of this changes the basic fact, however, that what Obama is proposing will actually raise the deficit over what would be the case if nothing were done.

And how does the press portray this mess? Simple -- every article announced that Obama's budget will cut the deficit to under a trillion dollars. That, of course, is talking point number 1 released by the White House to the press. These buffoons either just repeated it because they do not understand what they are talking about, or the reporters are so in the tank for Obama that they are prepared to mislead the public just to help Obama.

A democratic government cannot survive if there is not true information being given to the voters. There will always be differences of philosophy and expectations. Parties will emphasize different issues and solutions. Voters, however, need to know the actual facts in order to make a reasonable decision. Here, the press has failed miserably to report the truth.