CNN Explains its Own Poll

In point of fact, much of the stimulus has not yet been passed (0.00 / 0)

out, although quite a bit has been obligated.  That is, grantees can be certain of getting the money.  They just don't have it yet.
When less money is collected out of people's pay checks, that's not money that they perceive to have been spent or to have spent themselves.  In fact, it hasn't been spent; it's been saved in bank accounts.  The saving rate about which economists have been ranting for decades is now way up.  So, of course, they're complaining that the consumers haven't returned to pump up the economy.

We've all heard of the "movable feast."  Well, the definition of economy seems to be movable, as well.  And it's not just a matter of moving the goal posts; seems like there always a new game being played.  The banksters all seem to be playing "hide the sa.....money" at the moment.

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by: hannah @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 07:32:40 AM CST

Klein does a good job, I think, diagnosing the problem (0.00 / 0)

So, two thoughts:
1. The Obama Administration has done a terrible job explaining the stimulus package to the American people...especially since there have been very few documented cases of waste so far.
2. This is yet further evidence that Americans are flagrantly ill-informed...and, for those watching Fox News, misinformed.

It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos.

And I think his point about the perceived waste is a good one.  We haven't even spent the money that was wasted!

It turns out that what people are really upset about is all that wasteful money that has gone to political public works projects...except that the overwhelming portion of that money hasn't been spent yet. Remember all those "shovel-ready" projects? Well, they didn't exist. The big jobs-creating projects like the rebuilt "smart" electric grid, major highways and fast trains will come on line during the next year.

So, I'm not sure who CNN polled, but it certainly wasn't people who are aware of the facts surrounding the stimulus bill and our recovering economy.

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by: Timmy J @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 08:11:21 AM CST

How are people supposed to form an accurate opinion in the absence of information? (4.00 / 1)

If you are a person with a moderate interest in understanding what is going on and watch the evening news, you will see literally nothing on what the objective effect of the stimulus spending has been. Nothing. You don't even get an analysis of where we are today versus where we are a year ago. It's as if last year never happened.

On Fox you get a consistent and effective campaign about stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse. All you get from CNN and the mainstream media are opinion polls like this one that measure nothing and the occasional story about stimulus money that is not spent effectively in some town or other, playing into the Fox story line.

Unless you have economic training or know where to get data and how to evaluate it, the story is all one-sided: government spending doesn't work and cannot work to end a recession. So a reasonable low-to-medium information voter is left with the impression that the stimulus doesn't work.

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by: Michael Marsh @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 08:53:05 AM CST

[ Parent ]

well, BH is a good place to start (0.00 / 0)

And there a lots of websites just like this - where the facts the media doesn't report are here for the world to see.  You don't even need to pay to get here, and if you don't have the internet or a computer you can go to your local library.  I think people are starting to realize that the new media provides much better information, but we need to continue spreading the word.

Also, I agree that the media (especially Fox) is constantly pushing this false argument:

the story is all one-sided: government spending doesn't work and cannot work to end a recession.

But I was taught in middle school on that FDR ended the great depression because of his New Deal and increased government spending.  My point is that we need better education to show kids that progressive policies have worked in the past while those of Hoover and the GOP push this country towards the brink (or into) a depression every time they're tried.  It's really up to us to get this message out - we can't rely on TV news shows to do it for us because they're only interested in ratings, not facts.

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by: Timmy J @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 09:05:47 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I didn't realize three out of four Americans worked for the Brookings Institution. (0.00 / 0)

--
No tea; no decaf.

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 08:55:10 AM CST

"Remember, (0.00 / 0)

democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."  John Adams.

This is an informative documentary on the manipulation of public opinion by the media:
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin...

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by: j cicirelli @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 12:22:52 PM CST