What Kind of Reporting Do We Deserve?

by Dollars and Sense

A nice plug for D&S over at Counter Economics blog, where the main blogger is an e-subscriber to D&S. He singled out for praise Jerry Friedman's article Bernanke's Bad Teachers, which we just posted to the website.

What Kind of Financial and Economics Reporting Do We Deserve?

The differences between conventional media and the publication Dollars and Sense on the topic of economics and the present economic crisis is stark. From the conventional media the topic of the biases and corruption of our policy shapers such as Bernanke, Geithner and Summers is never brought up. According to the conventional media they are simply "public servants"; Alan Greenspan was one of the top economists when selected to head the Fed (which he never was), and Bernanke is a deep thinking scholar of the depression, who is providing the best lessons from that crisis to this one. What we are not supposed to notice is that all of these economists belong to a country club of the elite and are part of interlocking directorates. The only thing deep about them is the deep corporate welfare and consistently pro-financial industry approach to every single policy decision. As Larry Summers is paid $5 million a year to do a few hours a week of influence peddling for a hedge fund, and the other decision makers are similarly on the take, their first question is always the following:

"How can we further enrich investment banks in particular and the financial industry generally. Secondly, how can we spin it so it sounds good to the average person"

Every article and television debate is centered around the same philosophy. In order for the country to do well, Citibank absolutely must be able to charge 20% interest. Any deviation from this is simply the first step on the "road to socialism." The bias is so deep that during discussions of unfair credit card practices, the typical show moderator will offer "If we restrict what credit cards can charge, then people won't be able to get credit." Are we the only one's who are insulted by the fact that the moderators on these shows seem to work for Citibank? One's financial well being as well as sanity is almost predicated upon not watching and reading the conventional media as it has a perverting effect both on one's knowledge level and values. If Business Week or Fortune Magazine ever had a thought opinion or glancing emotion that was not pro corporate and completely anti worker, environment and sustainability, we would like to know what it was. The financial media landscape is abysmal, but we have an antidote.

Dollars and Sense (D&S) writes from the perspective of a heretical concept in our time; that the economy should actually benefit the people that work in it. D&S actually questions the official story and provides financial and economics reporting within a context of values. Not mindless repetition of catch phrases regarding "free markets," to paper over free rides for the ultra wealthy, but actual values. For most Americans, values are taught to be important, but only in certain settings. There are the values for "us," but then the values for GM, Monsanto and Goldman Sachs, and because they are businesses and must make a profit, they can do things no one would tolerate from us personally. How this double standard of values was developed is the topic of a different article, but Dollars and Sense does not accept the double standard. This is one reason why their coverage and writing is so clean.

Read the rest of the post.

Labels: Ben Bernanke, Counter Economics, Gerald Friedman

 

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7/18/2009 11:23:00 AM