Front and center of USA Today’s homepage right now are two stories that are quite frightening. The first titled, “Home Prices: Steepest Drop in 20 Years; No Recovery Soon.” Then just below that a story dubbed, “Business May Keep Their Wallets Closed.” While these two doomsday stories on the economy are front and center, full with color pictures, off to the side is a very different article entitled “U.S. Poverty Rate Down.” (see update below)
This should come as no surprise to anyone that follows the media. Good news is rarely is ever front and center, while the doom and gloom is almost certainly above the fold. Here are a few highlights from the article in case you missed it:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s poverty rate dropped last year, the first significant decline since President Bush took office.
The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 36.5 million Americans, or 12.3% — were living in poverty last year. That's down from 12.6% in 2005.
The median household income was $48,200, a slight increase from the previous year. But the number of people without health insurance also increased, to 47 million.
The last significant decline in the poverty rate came in 2000, during the Clinton administration. In 2005, the poverty rate dipped from 12.7% to 12.6%, but Census officials said that change was statistically insignificant.
The poverty numbers are good economic news at a time when financial markets have been rattled by a slumping housing market. However, the numbers released Tuesday represent economic conditions from a year ago.
Not only is that a “highlight” of the article, but it is in fact the entire article. For something that the left cries and screams about so much you’d think a drop in the poverty level would be front page, above the fold, color picture, kind of news. Alas, readers only get 134 words (counting the Washington in the beginning).
This is business as usual for the mainstream media. Even when there are positive things to report on we seldom hear about it.
I should also point out that even this little AP story emphasizes the plight of the uninsured. The Business and Media Institute.took a detailed look at the uninsured “crisis” earlier this year and found that the situation is not as bad as the media make things sound.
After subtracting people that are not citizens, 9.487 million, the people who can afford insurance but don’t want it, 17 million, and the people who are simply between jobs and will have insurance in four months or less and the problem becomes a lot smaller.
In fact, even the left-wing non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation (frequently cited by the media) puts the number of uninsured Americans who do not qualify for current government programs and make less than $50,000 a year between 13.9 million and 8.2 million.
(Update 15:40) Apparently CBS and the New York Times were jealous at the colossal amount of negativity that the NBC homepage was putting out, so they decided to try and match it. The NYT’s headline, “Poverty Rate Falls, but More Are Uninsured,” and CBS’s headline “Poverty Drops But Ranks of Uninsured Grow,” are both front and center on their respective homepages.
- Stuart James is a Research Analyst at the Business and Media Institute.
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Tuesday that 36.5 million Americans, or 12.3% — were living in p
August 28, 2007 - 12:30 ET by PawpawNThat's down from 2005 because we made all of the KATRINA victims rich with free money, free housing, free everything and most of them moved out of the poverty holes they were kept in there in New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana!!
All this reporting on the
August 28, 2007 - 12:33 ET by MikeBAll this reporting on the drop in home prices is misleading. This drop will hurt no one but the speculators, not the investors. For example, if you bought a house 20 years ago for 50 thousand dollars, and sold it today for 150 thousand dollars, you'd have made a profit, right? But, if you had sold it last year, perhaps you could have got 200 thousand. Does this mean the homeowner lost 50 thousand? Don't be absurd. Now, if a speculator bought last year for 200 thousand last year, and had to sell for 150 thousand this year, the speculator would have lost. But that speculator was betting that the price of housing would continue to rise in that market. Whenever you place a bet, you assume a risk of loss.
But, if someone were shopping for a home, and saw this particular home last year, but couldn't afford the 200K mortgage, but can afford a 150K mortgage, that buyer benefited by the adjustment in the housing market prices. The seller benefitted, making a profit on a 20 year investment, and the buyer benefitted by being able to afford something that had been out of his (or her) economic reach before.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
“Home Prices: Steepest
August 28, 2007 - 12:41 ET by pbanks7“Home Prices: Steepest Drop in 20 Years; No Recovery Soon.”
Umm.... buying opportunity? Now all those people who are no longer living in poverty can afford a home at a discount?
Not in the MSM!
Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.
The media wails on over the
August 28, 2007 - 13:12 ET by superconThe media wails on over the price of gas and oil rising as if it will destroy mankind and cause the poor to die in the streets hungry and homeless.The price of housing drops which I'm sure many people may consider a good thing and the Media is still crying.Housing is many peoples number one expense every month.The hell with the price of gas. When a mortgage goes up $400.00 a month that's something that hurts.
Victory in Iraq.
Newt for President.
Reminds me of..
August 28, 2007 - 14:08 ET by Gary Hall"Home Prices: Steepest Drop in 20 Years; No Recovery Soon.”
Reminds me of the headlines back in the spring of 2000. "Stock market crashes. Millions of Americans will loose their jobs, health insurance and life savings. No Recovery Soon."
Mmmmm - right.
Also of note is, "But the number of people without health insurance also increased, to 47 million." Interesting to consider that as recently as1998, the number of uninsured (which includes non-citizens in the US) stood at 44.3 million. So, the number of the uninsured has grown by 2.7 million people, while the population of the US has grown by 30 million - since only 1998.
Keep it up drive by media -
August 28, 2007 - 14:18 ET by jdhawkKeep it up drive by media - I love volatility in the stock market. More money for me! It doesn't make a difference if the market is moving up or down - as long as it is moving. And, I can't think of a more terrific trumpet than the drive by media that reaches over 50 million people daily.
Meanwhile, the price of homes in our country, before this so-called debacle, were becoming so high that the only way a modest income earner could afford one is to get one of these interest only, variable rate, hold the latte, extra caffeine loans.
The good to come out of this is as follows:
The worst of the mortgage companies will fail along with the home buying speculators
The Federal Reserve will reduce the federal funds rate which will ease the burden of those that bought their homes using variable rate mortgages and the lower interest rate will spur economic activity in general
Homes will become more affordable both in price and mortgage interest rates
Looks like a win/win/win to me!
By the way, I travel for business and pleasure and stay at hotels all over the country. If laying at my door when I get up in the morning is that mullet wrapper, USA Today, I throw it in the trash. Then, I inform the hotel managment NOT to deliver it to my door again. And, I tell them why.
Speculators
August 28, 2007 - 14:48 ET by JDWThose majority of who did not rely on bailout support survived. Those who relied on others to carry their responsibility ended up living in a private home for a few years instead of an apartment and simply walked away in the end.
The market is now cleaning itself of the bad mortgages and rebuilding value. It's a good time to buy.
Ignore the decrease in poverty, imagine viewing America from a positive perspective.
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
If they bail out the losers
August 28, 2007 - 14:51 ET by terrigIf they bail out the losers who did not read their contract, bought more of a house than they could possibly afford, I'm going to demand the same for those of us who buy houses we can afford, pay our bills on time and don't buy everything in sight.
Yes, all you stupid liberals, I called these people who are wanting a bail out because they can't live within their means LOSERS and if you have a problem with that stuff it, I don't care .
Taxpayer money
August 28, 2007 - 15:04 ET by JDWDeficit?
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
During the entire recent
August 28, 2007 - 16:12 ET by Conservative_in_mass.During the entire recent real estate boom, all you could read was the american dream of home ownership is out of reach for the average person. Now that the expected market correction has arrived, prices have stabilized and dropped... and all you hear is the sky is falling.
Do these people EVER see anything as being positive at all?
Want MSM positive spin?
August 28, 2007 - 16:24 ET by Mica the MagnificentThey will see everything positive if the Hilldebeast becomes pres.
Terrorist attack blows up entire city: "It could have been worse!"
Stock market crash: "Rich get their justice! Working people rally around Hillary!"
Asteroid to hit earth by Tuesday: "Cheney and Halliburton to profit"
Home prices fall to zero: "Poor get to own homes denied them by the Bush administration"
I've also been baffled why
August 28, 2007 - 21:37 ET by zfI've also been baffled why lower prices are such a hideous problem. Isn't it a good thing that houses become cheaper so that more people can buy them?
As for poverty, many libs deep down don't want poverty to end, their whole racket relies on the perception that there are so many miserable people and only they can save them. There being less of these "miserable people" is actually a bad thing for them. Less poverty, and the lefty's lose their reason to live.