Paul Krugman: Unethical Commentary, Newsweek Edition (slams over anti Obama cover)

[cal04]

There are multiple errors and misrepresentations in Niall Ferguson’s cover story in Newsweek — I guess they don’t do fact-checking — but this is the one that jumped out at me. Ferguson says:

The president pledged that health-care reform would not add a cent to the deficit. But the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation now estimate that the insurance-coverage provisions of the ACA will have a net cost of close to $1.2 trillion over the 2012–22 period.

Readers are no doubt meant to interpret this as saying that CBO found that the Act will increase the deficit. But anyone who actually read, or even skimmed, the CBO report (pdf) knows that it found that the ACA would reduce, not increase, the deficit — because the insurance subsidies were fully paid for.

Now, people on the right like to argue that the CBO was wrong. But that’s not the argument Ferguson is making — he is deliberately misleading readers, conveying the impression that the CBO had actually rejected Obama’s claim that health reform is deficit-neutral, when in fact the opposite is true.

(snip)
We’re not talking about ideology or even economic analysis here — just a plain misrepresentation of the facts, with an august publication letting itself be used to misinform readers. The Times would require an abject correction if something like that slipped through. Will Newsweek?
more at link

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/unethical-commentary-newsweek-edition/?

[flamingdem]

1. Newsweek has become a stinking pile

[LiberalFighter]

9. Has been?

I don't remember the last time they were worth reading. It's been at least 6 years for me since I last bought an issue.

[TeamPooka]

11. Newsweek did an issue on "Jiggle TV" with Suzanne Somers on the cover in 1978

that's the last time Newsweek was worth reading

[russspeakeasy]

2. And it's been asked why we don't believe "journalists"

Thanks cal04; always appreciate your posts.

[ProSense]

3. WTF?

Niall Ferguson: Hit the Road, Barack
The president has broken his promises, and Romney-Ryan's path to prosperity is our only hope.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/08/19/niall-ferguson-on-why-barack-obama-needs-to-go.html


I hope Ferguson feels like a fucking fool when he learns from the Romney campaign's own statement that they're frauds.

Romney Campaign Backing Off Pledge To Balance Budget By 2020
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021161761

[Snarkoleptic]

4. I ended my subscription several years ago when they had George Will

start writing the final article on some issues.
They sent me a 75% off 'we want you back' letter, to which I replied with a majorly snarky nastygram highlighting their turn to the right.
Fuck Newsweek and the pulp they're printed on.

[geckosfeet]

5. "an august publication letting itself be used to misinform readers" - bwahhh hah hah

Haw haw haw. "August publication" - I roar with derisive laughter at the suggestion.

"Letting itself be used" - they are whores.

[Grassy Knoll]

6. Now, Cons will LOVE liberal Newsweek....

Subscriptions must be way down, I suspect some superPAC paid a
hugh sum to push this cover and BS story.

[amuse bouche]

7. It seems

they just can't help themselves

[renie408]

8. I loves me some Paul Krugman. n/t

[underpants]

10. The Newsweek cover -- sad

[greiner3]

12. After Newsweek's;

'Wimp' cover, I feel they needed to balance, somewhat.

I've been trying to stomach Niall's articles but I just thumb over them now.

A quick Wiki peak at Niall reveals;

He speaks at American Enterprise Institure (Koch Brothers Inc.), got an exclusive look at Kissinger's personal papers, and in his history of WWI, claims Germany was Europe's most anti-militarist country preceding WWI, Germany posed no threat to Britain before 1914, and that all British fears of Germany were due to irrational anti-German prejudices, the British were driven into alliances with France and Russia as a form of appeasement due to the strength of those nations, and an Anglo-German alliance failed to materialize due to German weakness, That most people were happy with the outbreak of war in 1914 (Ferguson claims that most Europeans were saddened by the coming of war, claims that British Colonialism was "the best route to go," embraced the Eurabian idea (Eurabia is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory. The term is used by far-right activists and by members of the counterjihad movement.), supported the Iraq war and is not necessarily opposed to future incursions in the world,
Replacing the personal income tax, corporate income tax, Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA), estate tax, and gift tax with a 33% Federal Retail Sales Tax (FRST), plus a monthly rebate, amounting to the FRST a household with similar demographics would pay if its income were at the poverty line. See also: FairTax
Replacing the Old Age benefits paid under Social Security with a Personal Security System, consisting of private retirement accounts for all citizens, plus a government benefit payable to those whose savings were insufficient to afford a minimum retirement income
Replacing Medicare and Medicaid with a Medical Security System that would provide health insurance vouchers to all citizens, the value of which would be determined by one's health
Cutting federal discretionary spending by 20%, and more. Niall is a piece of republican steaming pile of crap.

[ProSense]

15. Except

'Wimp' cover, I feel they needed to balance, somewhat.

Tomasky isn't a tool for a think tank, and he didn't blatantly lie in the piece. He took known facts about Romney and made an assessment about his current actions.

Ferguson simply lied. His piece is a complete distortion of the CBO report.

[truebrit71]

16. He is a ginormous, self-important, full-time ass-carrot..

...that REALLY likes the sound of his own voice...

[highplainsdem]

13. K&R

[progressoid]

14. Newsweek?

That's about as relevant as Look Magazine. I haven't opened one of those for years.

[indepat]

17. I won't subscribe to Newsweek now