Public TV's Inequality Balancing Act
09/23/2011 by Peter HartThe PBS NewsHour did a pretty strong piece last month (8/16/11) on inequality in America. So perhaps it was a sense of "balance" that drove them to do a follow-up segment on September 21 that argued that things aren't so bad after all.
As anchor Jeffrey Brown put it:
NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman has been examining that subject, including studies showing an alarming rise in the so-called wealth gap. But tonight's interview takes issue with that view.
It turns out that one of Solman's old friends, American University economics professor Bob Lerman, didn't much care for that piece: "It would be nice if there was more equality, but let's not overdo it."
In case that doesn't sound convincing to you, he elaborated:
I think it's somewhat of a problem, but you way overstated it. There were no nuances to the report. You ignored a big source of wealth, which is the wealth embodied in Social Security.
Lerman and Solman go on to visit a nursing home, where older people are apparently enjoying their staggering wealth--mostly in the form of healthcare. As Lerman put it: "Take a lot of the people right here at this nursing home. Medicare is a source of wealth that finances their stay here." Solman seemed to see the logic in this, telling a woman at the home, "Medicare is like a stash of wealth that you're now drawing on." She must have been relieved to know about her secret wealth!
It's hard to imagine comparing assets like a house or cash to the healthcare one receives (or might receive one day)--much of which is derived from taxes you've paid over the years. By that logic, someone who gets really ill and requires massive amounts of care is actually striking it rich!
As we pointed out recently (in response to a Robert Samuelson column about the lucky duck senior citizens), half of all Medicare beneficiaries had incomes below $22,000, and half had less than $2,100 in retirement account savings.
The argument shifts a bit as the segment moves on, as Solman's friend seems to want to argue...well, I'm not sure exactly what you'd call this:
Today, you could have a Ferrari or you could have a Kia. You could stay at the Taj Boston or you could stay at the Holiday Inn. Is there that big a difference? So, let's be clear. The rich do have more opportunity to consume than everyone else, but I'm not sure that we need to be as concerned about it as implicit in your program.
So there's inequality, but the difference between luxury and poverty isn't as wide as you might think. Thanks, PBS.
Tags: false balance, inequality, Jeffrey Brown, NewsHour, Paul Solman
Posted in Economy, PBS | Permalink | Trackback | Share
Diggit
del.icio.us
reddit
Yahoo
Facebook
StumbleUpon
September 23rd, 2011 at 4:24 pm
You read something like this, and it makes abundantly clear the vital distinction between support for the idea of public television …
And support for the reality of it.
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Anyone who thinks public media is 'liberal' needs to have some sense smacked into them.
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:43 pm
What bothered me at the time is that no one on the program made clear that Medicare does not cover long term care which these women seemed to be getting.
But, on the other side, maybe something to pick up on, Lerman seemed to speak of Medicare and Social Security as "investments." That terminology (even if not completely accurate) sounds much better than "entitlements" (which is also not quite accurate.
September 23rd, 2011 at 6:01 pm
And just how much money does Medicare contribute toward one's nursing-home rent? Not a cent, unless the resident is just out of the hospital and/or is receiving a few days of prescribed therapy in a nursing home that offers therapy. Medicaid will help out destitute residents, but most residents pay the $4,000 plus monthly tab out of their own pockets.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
[...] http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/09/23/public-tvs-inequality-balancing-act/ [...]
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Healthcare should be treated as a necessity--like food and shelter--not an asset like a car. Should we count clean drinking water and flush toilets as assets to be totaled into individual balance sheets, too?
September 24th, 2011 at 12:53 am
Wow… 3 squares a day!.. and I don't have to go to jail to get it! Livin' large, my man.. ^..^
September 24th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Well forget the stupidity of comments in this story.It's key point seems to be saying there is inequity in America.Get away…Are you serious?We need to fix that right now for me.That means when I want to speak in front of fair bloggers (and you wont pay me as much as Clinton, or Obama would get paid)that we come up with a new more equitable formula, of even handedness.I mean it is so unfair.I have a voice.What do they got ,that i aint got?Since i am not getting paid anything by you guys the only way we can even the playing field is to tax Clinton and Obamas pay check at 100%!Fair again, and free at last.
The constitution says every man is created equal.One second after you pop out that changes.It is not our governments job to enforce equality at the end of your life.Using the sadness in some people lives is a hard political ploy.
September 25th, 2011 at 8:19 am
Re: michael e: I really can't make head or tail out of what You're trying to express. Michael E _ can you try again to express what you are discussing. I just don't get your point>
September 25th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
What confounds me is WHY our Corporate Government wants to cut the funding of another compliant mouthpiece. PBS and NPR while not as good as Fox Noise at creating news and prapaganda, most certainly rate an A in reporting only what their corpate donators tell them too. They even get the public to PAY for a portion of censored news! and still corporate government wants to "off" Public Broadcasting. Duh?!
September 25th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Sorry Judith.Peter Hart wrote this.I think HE is often the hard read. He touched on a few things never reall landing.I notice everybody seems to be spinning off on their own road.I too went off on a tangent.Kind of riffing on BoB Lerman's statement.I could of just said..life is unfair ,get over it, in agreement to Bob.His statement that SSecurity is wealth, is a bit strange though.Sounds like something taken out of context.
September 25th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Naw, ole michael just got his meds mixed up again.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:52 am
I was riding paratransit last week. When we pulled up to a nusing home, the driver said that she was home, "she said she had no home." and she was right.
For profit nursing homes fight to keep a bias towards the most exspensive type of care possible. A retired couple on Social Security owning their own home in California, make too much money for home care.
If we put our elders on cruse ships, with a maid service and three meals it would be cheaper than sending people to a nursing home.
Don't the idle rich have something better to do than make up stories about poor people they are living off of, maybe go be job creators their minions brag about them doing.
September 26th, 2011 at 7:07 am
HReading joins that "liberal proud and brave personal insult group"(LPBPIG).DING DING DING DING
September 26th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
And proud of it, dimwit.
September 27th, 2011 at 12:23 am
HReading
I'll say a prayer for ya buddy, and hope for only the best for you.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:46 am
I was watching the show in question, and could not understand why Lerman was not subjected to some serious factchecking. Yes, Medicare and Social Security improve the overall picture for senior citizens: that is the reason for which those programs exist. But no person living on Social Security alone would reside in the assisted living shown for the simple reason that they couldn't afford it. My parents currently live in a very comprehensive assisted living, but Medicare contributes nothing toward that, and their Social Security assists with but could not cover their actual living expenses. Fortunately for them, they have other resources. Many people do not, and Solmon's friend doesn't seem to get that the spectrum does not run from the Taj Boston to the Holiday Inn, but from the Taj Boston to a cardboard box under a bridge. Had they visited a facility where people's ONLY income came from Social Security, I doubt his premise that the wealth gap in this country is not such a big deal could have been listened to with a straight face.
September 29th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Deb Van I.-- you are right on the money. somehow Paul Solman who is usually very sharp-- missed this whole thing. Missed — or was told to cool it.. are these guys really tired of living in a democracy?? what would they prefer, i wonder??
October 28th, 2011 at 7:47 am
[...] point was that seniors enjoy vast riches in the form of Social Security and Medicare (FAIR Blog, 9/23/11). The segment included a visit to a nursing home, where Solman informed one resident that [...]
January 27th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
[...] PBS NewsHour did little to clarify the issue. The broadcast began with Jeffrey Brown announcing, "The Pentagon today outlined almost half a trillion dollars in budget cuts that would [...]