Media Influence on Perception of the Financial Crisis. Who is to Blame?

Let me be clear. I am no expert in Politics. I just post articles that has to do with how media molds our perception, which unfortunately has a lot to do with politics and social issues. Below I’ve added excerpts from an article in regards our national financial problems and who is to blame. This article abhors the “fact” that liberal media continues to help build on the perception that congress is working hard to paint. That our financial crisis is all due to greedy CEOs and irresponsible spending, keeping our focus away from the fact that lot of the problems stem from government laws and programs that Congress enacted not too long ago.

Do I agree with it? Don’t ask me, I just want to promote logical thinking and allow people to make sound judgments beyond just believing and soaking in everything they see and hear in media. I do think the article is very one sided and borderlines on being a rant, but that makes the article somewhat interesting to read.

If you have some counter arguments or a link to article that supports or goes against this matter, feel free to leave a comment.

Proper Credit: RenewAmerica

I just have to laugh at all this nonsense about Detroit CEOs and their corporate jets. When the Big 3 automaker CEOs came to Washington with their hands out for a taxpayer bailout, the congressional committee seemed more interested in how they got there than in finding solutions to the problem — whether it be a government loan or anything else…

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said to the 3 CEOs “I’m going to ask the three executives here to raise their hand if they flew here commercial.” No hands went up. Then he said “I’m going ask you to raise your hand if you’re planning to sell your jet . . . and fly back commercial.” Again no hands went up. He followed with “Let the record show no hands went up.”

When the hearing was about $25 billion in government loans, why was Sherman so interested in a few thousand dollars a flight for the CEOs to get there, and to be sure it went on the record? Because he knew the media would cover it, and make a big deal about it, to influence public perception against the Big 3 CEOs and corporate America.

We are simply supposed to believe that all of the financial problems encountered by corporate America today are always the fault of “greedy” CEOs, and never the result of lame brained congressional regulation or union extortion of business management to pad the pockets of union officials and workers.

Now to get all controversial by provoking names of parties..

Corporate Jets, How about Congress Jets?

Had it not been for government regulations, created by Democrats and applied to the mortgage industry to ensure toxic home loans were granted, the mortgage meltdown would not have occurred. Had it not been for liberal legislation banning domestic energy production throughout most of the country, a gallon of gasoline would not have become unaffordable to millions of Americans who took advantage of those mortgage regulations. Still, Congress wants us to believe that it was all the fault of “greedy” CEOs, and they depend on the liberal alphabet media to create that public perception. The deception worked most effectively.

What’s the big deal over corporate jets? Most all corporate executives and CEOs use corporate jets to get around the country for meetings and seminars. They don’t really have the time or the need to travel on commercial aircraft and risk delays. That’s what corporate jets are for. The Big 3 automakers are not in financial trouble because of their private jets.

If a private jet is good enough for Nancy Pelosi — who demanded her own upgrade it to a 747, then it should be good enough for the CEOs of Ford, GM, and Chrysler who actually work for a living and create millions of jobs and funnel billions of dollars into the economy.

Big 3 Auto Firms in a Bind, by the Government

GM used to make a fair profit, but that was before Democrats took control of Congress and the price of gas began to skyrocket. GM lost $38.7 billion in 2007. The socialist UAW became to big and powerful, and began demanding too much of the industry pie, while accepting little of the losses. Meanwhile, Toyota has been cutting deeply into GM auto sales with their lower operating costs.

It’s not that their cars are better than GM, Ford, and Chrysler. It’s that it costs less to build them when they don’t have to pay excessive UAW extortion expenses. They can therefore sell them for a lower price which the Big 3 then have to compete with at a higher manufacturing cost that leaves no room for profit. On top of that comes the costs of retooling their factories to comply with government-created environmental regulations like CAFE, but Congress fails to fund these regulations so compliance by the automakers puts them deep into debt.

What’s a CEO to do when you’re bound by government regulations and union extortion with threats of labor strikes if you don’t pay for workers who aren’t working anymore? UAW demands add $1300 to the cost of every car GM sells. That means that Toyota and Honda can make the same car for more than $1300 less when you factor in automation.

It’s not as though GM has just been irresponsible with its spending. The company has been going through restructuring to cut costs since 2005, but one time buyout expenditures were necessary and expensive, which put the company into the red. Still, in 2006, GM cut its costs by $6.8 billion, and an additional $2.2 billion in 2007.

What is a CEO to do when Bound Down?

Did the congressional committee consider this when they told the CEOs to go home and come up with a plan to reduce costs? Of course not. Word might leak out that the CEOs are already doing the cost cutting job that Congress is demanding of them. The last thing Congress wants is for the CEOs to actually look like fiscally-responsible leaders of their companies. The public perception that CEOs are to blame for the financial crisis must be maintained, and the failed policies of Congress must never be questioned.

Congress will Bail out the Economy! By Spending More Money!

What a scam this whole idea of a bailout is anyway. America didn’t just win a global lottery. Hank Paulson and President Bush decided that we suddenly have $700 billion to hand out (which we don’t) and suddenly everyone has their hand out for a piece of the pie…

The $700 billion is not a “bailout;” it’s a handout by government of money stolen from the taxpayers. Obama, ACORN, Clinton, and the Democrats got us into this economic crisis and blamed it all on Bush and the Republicans to win the election. Unfortunately, McCain/Palin did nothing to combat it and defend Republicans. Now Obama is telling us that Democrats have no exit strategy from this crisis, and the only thing he can suggest is another multi-billion dollar “stimulus” handout. Isn’t that Einstein’s definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

How about if Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid get rid of their private jets to help cut the costs of government to the taxpayers? Where do these congressional hypocrites — who continually show a $3 billion deficit in their own budget — get off judging professional corporate executives who are enslaved to unions and government regulations?

Take Credit Congress for the Good and the Bad

If politicians insist on taking credit for running the country, then it’s time they take credit for this current crisis that they have created as well. If an unscrupulous media want to do the bidding of dishonest politicians to guarantee their invitations to beltway dinners, then they also need to share the blame for creating a false public perception of Congress and the private sector, and for failing to do the job that their professional code of ethics demands of them…

The decline of confidence in the broadcast and print media is expected to continue in coming years until they become a no longer viable media for news and political information.

As more and more people turn to “new media” internet and talk radio, they become more informed and more aware of the truth concerning important issues, and more aware of the misinformation and lack of information being distributed by the elite liberal media. Public perception of mainstream media is changing rapidly, and that’s a good sign for America’s eventual recovery from the liberal wasteland of ignorance that has prevailed for too long now.

Thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Have a counter argument or article you want to share? Just be courteous.

You may also like

2 Comments

  1. Great! Thank you very much!
    I always wanted to write in my blog something like that. Can I take part of your post to my site?
    Of course, I will add backlink?

    Regards, Your Reader

    1. Readers & Bloggers are free to take quotes and small excerpts. Please do not copy and paste the entire article and as always please backlink so your users can access the full article if they choose.

      Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *