Americans are hurting. Shhhhh.
“An economic recovery has begun,” cheered President Obama at his January 21 inaugural speech. Or not. Just two weeks later came the grim news that the U.S. economy – struggling through its worst recovery since WWII – had shrunk by 0.1 percent in 2012’s fourth quarter.
The news was all but ignored by America’s mainstream media. Only CBS of the Big 3 networks reported the big story. The Detroit Free Press buried the news on Page 4 of its business section. Where the story did appear, the reporting was misleading.
“The Commerce Department said the economy shrank last quarter mainly because companies restocked at a slower rate and the government slashed defense spending,” chirped AP, parroting the administration line.
In truth, the 4th quarter slowdown was entirely expected for anyone not living under the MSM’s rock. American businessmen have been treading water for months – uncertain about the costs of Obamacare, fearful of Obama’s looming cliff taxes on capital, hopeful of a Romney presidency.
“We’ve calculated it would be some millions of dollars across our system,” Applebee’s CEO Zane Tanekl told Fox News last November about Obamacare’s costs. “So what does that say? That says we won’t build more restaurants. We don’t hire more people.”
His comments echo those of Michigan businesses we have reported here at The Detroit News.
Obamedia says the economy slowed because of reduced government spending? At a time when Washington is spending a record 25 percent of GDP and running up $1 trillion deficits? Seriously? It’s a fiction not unlike the Obama campaign fable that it’s all Bush’s fault. That’s not what businessmen say.
What they do say is that they were holding back in 4Q, reported Bloomberg last October, out of “political concern (over) taxes, in particular how investment income will be treated.” Or the 6,000 new regulations the Obama administration posted last fall. “One thing that business leaders agree would ease business pessimism would be an administration agreement to streamline regulations,” reported Fox News in November.
In the Age of Misinformation, however, the priority isn’t reporting – it’s protecting a Democratic president.
Join the Conversation
The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and events that we cover. The News will not condone personal attacks, off topic posts or brutish language on our site. If you find a comment that you believe violates these standards, please click the "X" in the upper right corner of the post to report it.