Pain at the Pump
Schizophrenic media offer
full-service bias on the economy.
By
Charles Simpson [1]
August 12, 2005
The networks cant make up their minds about whether the economy is
strong or on the brink of disaster. Just days after NBCs Katie
Couric wondered why President Bush isnt drawing support from good
economic news, NBCs Brian Williams wondered, when do we all start
feeling the real damage? Trying to put a damper on the publics
perception of economic growth, the Aug. 11 round of network evening
news programs featured record oil prices, greedy oil executives
and anti-free market shills.
With a large graphic and the bold red words Record
High, ABCs World News Tonight continued the misinformation about
gas prices. This cant be stated any more plainly: the price of a
barrel of oil and a gallon of gas is nowhere near the record highs
from 1981. Adjusted for inflation, prices would have to reach $90 a
barrel to be a record.
While gas prices are rising, the economy is absorbing
the increase. Inflation is in check, jobs are being created in
earnest, and, most importantly, consumers are still lining up at the
pump. But ABCs Betsy Stark wasnt convinced. Just days after many
of her colleagues wondered why Americans arent confident about the
economy, Stark warned, For some Americans, the tipping point may
come this winter, when they have to start paying record prices to
heat their homes. If that comes, on top of record gas prices, there
will be lots of consumers with nothing left to spend after theyve
paid all the energy bills.
Trish Regan wasnt sold on the strength of the economy,
either. The CBS Evening News reporter called recent strides in
consumer spending an addiction and claimed it was being fueled by
easy money, credit cards, home equity loans, analysts say the danger
is that interest rates are going up and consumers and economy will
be squeezed by a potential credit crunch. Regan didnt bother to
mention the 207,000 people who found jobs in July and, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the growing paychecks that
supplement their easy money.
Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer agreed with Regans
shortsighted assessment: You are making a very interesting point
here. That is when the Fed raised interest rates, credit card
companies raised their interest rates but they don't tell the
consumers, so people may be facing higher bills than they realize.
Contrary to what he said, credit card companies are bound by law to
disclose rates to their customers.
ABC even used an anti-corporate shill to criticize
those greedy oil companies and their soaring profits. Consumer
Advocate Joan Claybrook of Public Citizen claimed, These profits
are enormous because the public is drastically overpaying compared
to what the oil costs to produce. Public Citizen was founded by
Ralph Nader and often misrepresents the facts when campaigning
against corporations. Claybrooks statements were no exception.
According to a recent study by the American Petroleum
Institute, oil companies make an estimated 7.3 cents on each gallon
sold. These profits are used to pay shareholder dividends and to
search for more energy sources. So, if oil companies were to slash
their profit margin, not only would shareholders lose money, but new
energy sources would go undiscovered so consumers could save 7
cents per gallon. Unfortunately, no oil company representative was
given the opportunity to explain the business or counter criticism
from anti-corporatists like Joan Claybrook.
Still, ABC waited until the end of the bias-riddled
piece to acknowledge the free market. The closing quote in the piece
on oil company profits: Ultimately, will consumers have the final
word? If so, they havent spoken yet. Theyre buying more gas now
than they were this time last year. Perhaps these consumers know
something about the economy that journalists dont.