A key reason that Members of Congress have been able to get away with holding our government hostage is that they've been able to trick many Americans into thinking that federal government spending on domestic priorities is out of control, while these same Members of Congress have diverted public attention from the bloated Pentagon budget. Mainstream media have enabled these Members of Congress by failing to put budget numbers in context. If the New York Times tells you that we’re spending $15 billion on foreign aid or $400 million on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which funds PBS and NPR) without putting those numbers in context, you might think that's a lot of money. But in the context of the Pentagon's half a trillion dollar annual budget, these numbers are chump change.
Prominent progressive economist Dean Baker has launched a campaign to get the New York Times to fix its reporting on budget issues. Just Foreign Policy is working to promote Dean's campaign with a petition at MoveOn: .@nytimes, @Sulliview: Put Budget Numbers in Context<http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/nytimes-sulliview-put?source=c.url&r_by=1135580> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/nytimes-sulliview-put?source=c.url&r_by=1135580 As Dean writes, "If the New York Times were to change its practice for budget reporting most of the rest of the media would almost certainly follow. The NYT is recognized as the preeminent newspaper in the country. Their standards are taken seriously by everyone." You can find the rest of Dean's argument at our petition site: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/nytimes-sulliview-put?source=c.url&r_by=1135580 P.S. Dean is on the board of Just Foreign Policy. -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected]
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