Each year the Business & Media Institute looks back on the year's news and selects the top 10 worst economic myths. Here is our 2011 list: 10. Congress took a "machete" to the budget in August. 9. In order to win, the GOP wants to sabotage the economy. 8. Who cares about a Soros' sponsored effort to remake global economy? 7. With 7 billion on the planet, it's time to panic. 6. Apocalypse Al is a "genius," and climate change is a real threat. 5. The jobs are right around the corner. 4. Occupy Wall Street is the new Tea... continue reading
Each year the Business & Media Institute looks back on the year's news and selects the top 10 worst economic myths. Here is our 2010 list: 10. GM Repayment Shows Taxpayer Bailout Worked 9. All the Economy Needs is More Stimulus 8. Soda is Like Cocaine and Ads Cause Obesity 7. Obama the Tax Cutter 6. The Tea Parties are Astroturf, but Green Groups Aren't. 5. Despite Largest Budget in History, Obama is Fiscally Conservative 4. Lack of Press Freedom in Gulf Doesn't Point to Obama 3. Nearly 10 Percent Unemployment Isn't So Bad 2. ClimateGate? What ClimateGate? 1. The... continue reading
Each year the Business & Media Institute looks back on the year's news and selects the top 10 worst economic myths. Here is our 2009 list: 10. CBS, NY Times Support Ecuadorian Shakedown of U.S. oil company 9. Media Fail to Scrutinize Obama’s Job Claims 8. Government Stimulus is the Answer to Our Economic Problems 7. No Tax Increases for the Middle Class 6. The Recession was Over … by July. 5. Cash for Clunkers was a ‘Success’ 4. Reagan vs. Obama on Jobs: Same Rate, Different Story 3. Health Care Reform will be ‘Deficit Neutral’ 2. Tea Parties aren’t... continue reading
The media love to fret over global warming, but now that a trillion-dollar scheme to address global warming could be just around the corner the networks have been curiously quiet. On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill to cap carbon emissions and create an artificial trading market. The network news media didn’t mention it, but critics say the legislation would be a “huge threat to American prosperity and freedom.” The Heritage Foundation estimates that this bill, known as Waxman-Markey , would cost $9.6 trillion in GDP loss and over a million jobs by 2035, but... continue reading
The media love to fret over global warming, but now that a trillion-dollar scheme to address global warming could be just around the corner the networks have been curiously quiet. On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill to cap carbon emissions and create an artificial trading market. The network news media didn’t mention it, but critics say the legislation would be a “huge threat to American prosperity and freedom.” The media love to fret over global warming, but now that a trillion-dollar scheme to address global warming could be just around the corner the networks... continue reading
Temperatures have plummeted to record or near-record lows in 32 states this winter. On March 2, a global warming protest in Washington, D.C. was buried by nearly a foot of snow. And a new study warns that the Earth could be in for a 30-year cooling trend. Reality is not cooperating with the network news’ global warming theme, yet reporters are unwilling to even discuss the possibility that the Earth is cooling. Global warming alarmists repeatedly link weather phenomena like tornadoes, hurricanes, ice melt, droughts and wildfires with global warming and the media embrace the stories. Yet, when cities or... continue reading
Temperatures have plummeted to record or near-record lows in 32 states this winter. On March 2, a global warming protest in Washington , D.C. was buried by nearly a foot of snow. And a new study warns that the Earth could be in for a 30-year cooling trend. Reality is not cooperating with the network news’ global warming theme, yet reporters are unwilling to even discuss the possibility that the Earth is cooling. Global warming alarmists repeatedly link weather phenomena like tornadoes, hurricanes, ice melt, droughts and wildfires with global warming and the media embrace the stories. Yet, when cities... continue reading
Are journalists playing favorites with some of the key political figures involved with regulatory oversight of U.S. financial markets? MSNBC’s Chris Matthews launched several vitriolic attacks on the Republican Party on his Sept. 17, 2008, show , suggesting blame for Wall Street problems should be focused in a partisan way. However, he and other media have failed to thoroughly examine the Democratic side of the blame game. Prominent Democrats ran Fannie Mae, the same government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) that donated campaign cash to top Democrats. And one of Fannie Mae’s main defenders in the House – Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a... continue reading
Some of the toughest obstacles American businesses face come not from other companies or the economy, but from the media – journalists exaggerating an issue to make a story sexier or anti-business groups influencing the media to advance their agenda. Four of the stories on the following list started with a press release or report from an environmentalist group, labor union or “consumer group.” Those exaggerations or manipulations resulted in lost jobs, lost revenue, unfounded health scares, unnecessary government intervention, and even deaths. The Business & Media Institute has compiled a list of the nine worst business stories (of the... continue reading
The media are awash with historical flashbacks. Is this the worst economy since the Great Depression? Or is it a repeat of ’70s-era financial woes? For the most part, the comparisons have been less than accurate. But there’s one the media have missed: an old villain from the ’70s causing Americans grief over oil and gas. Oil prices have soared to more than $100 a barrel and journalists are looking for someone to blame for Americans’ “pain at the pump.” They call “Big Oil” “thieves” and accuse them of reaping “excessive profits” driven by “greed.” But the networks ignore one... continue reading