Media Misinformation

When I was young I was always told the following: "If I heard or was told something of importance to check it out either through the print media or the broadcast media." Why? Because those were the places to find truthful information.

Today, however, this is not true. The major newspapers like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and, in our area, the St. Petersburg Times are, in almost all respects, fronts for the liberal minority in this country. The same is true for the broadcast media like ABC, NBC, CNN and MSNBC, "with I get a thrill up my leg Mathews," when talking about President Barrack Obama or the Democrats in general.

Proof is readily apparent in today's economic crises. Obama and the Democratic operatives all use the words "we inherited" the problem from the Republican Bush administration. This is misinformation on a large scale. The media, both print and broadcast, know that this is not the complete truth but repeat it and allow politicians, their operatives, and pundits to repeat it ad nauseam.

Republican control of Congress ended with the election of 2006. The Democratic Party took over both houses of Congress and also all of the oversight and regulatory functions of the Congress. No funds can be spent unless they have approved it with votes from both Houses. No laws are made by the president in this country. Only the Congress can make laws. No appropriations can be made by the president. Only the Congress can do this. This function has been under Democratic control since the end of 2006. All the spending of 2007, 2008 and now 2009 was and is being done by the Democratic majority.

Obama arrived in the Senate after the election of 2006. He and former Sen. Joe Biden, now vice president, voted for every one of the spending bills that came out of Congress after that election. The truth is that they inherited these problems from themselves.

The media, all types, know this but allow them to lie to us every day. The real problem here is that about 50 percent of the Democratic base doesn't know the above facts. They think President Bush does all of the things Congress has control over. Were not Obama, Biden and Hillary Clinton all senators who voted for all the spending in 2007, 2008 and 2009? Were not Frank, Dodd, Leahy, Rangle, to name a few, the chairmen of the committees with oversight over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae? Why did they stall re-regulation of the 800-pound gorillas, which caused these crises, Freddie and Fannie?

The point here is the media allows this type of misinformation to be repeated many times over every day. I've always been told by media people that their mandate is to inform the public. It is apparent that a change has taken place. They now "misinform" instead of "inform" the public every day.

Gerald Lesmeister

Weeki Wachee

Government Spending

Will Provide Little Stimulus

Peter Stathis wrote in the Feedback column that deficit spending by a government is not how to manage an economy. He seems to be advocating that spending only the receipts that you take in from taxes should be the best management technique and would result in balanced budget.

Unfortunately that is not necessarily the best scenario. Lord John Maynard Keynes was far from being myopic and only a theorist. He stated that money put into an economy multiplies as it is re-spent at the various levels. He said that money has three multipliers: consumers, business and government. The amount of times it multiplies is highest from consumers, then business and last government. Keynes was not only the first economist to apply mathematics to economic theory, but he applied his theory when he was the Exchequer of England.

There is a major difference between running a government and running a business. The objective of a business is to make profits. The objective of a government is to provide services. As far as businesses not utilizing deficit spending, they do many times through advertising, rebates, etc. in order to enhance sales, which would result in a profit. The stimulus efforts currently going on are not incorrect in theory, only in application. The money is being spent at the wrong levels of the economy.

If we want to get the most bang for the buck then we need to get the money into the hands of the consumer, not companies and government projects. If government wants to promote selected businesses then they need to offer incentives to consumers to utilize these selected products. The result would then be increased sales, increased production, increased tax returns, etc., which could result in a "profit" to the government, assuming a lid is kept on future spending, and eventually a balanced budget and national debt.

This is a long-term proposition; there are no short cuts. Spending the money as the government is currently will provide very little stimulus and never amount to a stable situation.

Charles E. Emberger

Weeki Wachee

No Confidence

In Government

I realize in this time of budget shortfalls that it is very difficult to support a tax reduction. The consequences of not supporting it are far greater: businesses closing and homeowners loosing their homes.

Confidence is a key element of any economic recovery, and right now the people do not have confidence in government.

We in business have had to cut our expenses, but yet my county auditor tells me taxes are not an expense. I say they are the first expense, because if I don't pay my tax, I loose my property. I pay Hernando County more property tax on my two small motels that I am able to keep - and it has been this way for a long time. It is the one expense I can do virtually nothing about, except to lobby for a fair taxation level.

The other side of this equation if that we need realistic assessments. Government should be willing to pay the price that the property is assessed for. I am sure there are many Floridians who would be more that willing to sell their property for their assessed value.

Floridians still need property tax relief. We need property tax collections to reset to the level of the year 2000 and drop like a rock! You can help by asking the Senate and House leadership to quickly pass the 1.35 percent property tax cap. You can ensure the voters can have quick relief by asking they place it on the ballot for a special election in 2009.

Government must live within its budget and we the people must not make excessive demands on government.

If we want something "special" then we should be willing to set up a special tax to pay for it and not expect others who receive no benefit to foot the bill. This is done through MSTUs and user fees.

Additionally, I do support a higher sales tax in preference to property tax. That way, everyone pays. Since we are a tourist state, the tourists are getting benefits they are not paying for.

It has been argued renters would be hurt by a sales tax, but that is not true, since rental property is not homesteaded the higher tax is passed along through higher rent to the tenant. It is most always the end user who ends up paying the tax.

Charles Morton

Weeki Wachee