Paul Krugman: A Word From Those Who (Ryan's plan, disingenuous and fraudulent)

[cal04]

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/a-word-from-those-who/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto

I’ve been reading various “news analyses” of the Ryan plan, and I’m feeling depressed. In the past, I’ve complained about false equivalence — of “views differ on shape of the planet” type reporting. But what I’m seeing here is worse: supposedly objective, even-handed reporting that actually prejudges the issue according to current conventional wisdom.

The stories I have in mind say things like this: “There are those who criticize the Ryan plan, saying that it’s too radical/goes too far.”

As a card-carrying member of Those Who, I protest. This is just wrong.

People like me don’t say that the Ryan plan is too radical; we say that it’s a fraud. The spending cuts are largely fake, either because they’re just magic asterisks or because they wouldn’t survive politically; the revenue estimates are fake, because they combine huge tax cuts with vague assurances that extra revenue will be found by closing loopholes. There’s no there there — except for big tax cuts for the rich and pain for the poor.

[indepat]

1. Disingenuous, fraudulent, and noxiously craven

:patriot: