O'Reilly & Fox Are Lying To You About The Debt
By: Steve - June 2, 2011 - 10:00am

Pretty much every night O'Reilly goes on and on about the debt, and how it is killing the country, that it is the #1 issue facing the country today, and that Obama and the Democrats do not understand that. Even though they sang a different tune during the Bush years, when O'Reilly and his right-wing friends said the debt does not matter. In fact, O'Reilly and many other Republicans even made fun of liberals who complained about the debt. Dick Cheney also said that deficits do not matter.

Over the last couple years Fox News has aggressively pushed the bogus story that the national debt is the number one issue facing America today. But the experts and most of the people say job growth and the economy should be our top priority, a sentiment shared by voters, according to all the polls.

Here are some examples of what the Fox stooges have said:

-- Bill Hemmer: National Debt "Is Issue Number One For The American People."

-- Dagan McDowell: On the O'Reilly Factor, she said this: "The Number One Issue" Is "Our Debt."

-- Bill O'Reilly: On the 5-26-11 O'Reilly Factor, Billy said this: "As Talking Points stated last night, America's debt is the most -- the most -- vital issue facing we the people.

-- Gretchen Carlson Called The Deficit "The Biggest Problem At Hand."

And now the facts: Experts argue that the economy should be a priority over the deficit.

Nobel prize winner for economics (Paul Krugman) criticized efforts to focus on budget deficits rather than economic growth in a New York Times column:
Why not slash deficits immediately? Because tax increases and cuts in government spending would depress economies further, worsening unemployment. And cutting spending in a deeply depressed economy is largely self-defeating even in purely fiscal terms: any savings achieved at the front end are partly offset by lower revenue, as the economy shrinks.

So jobs now, deficits later was and is the right strategy. Unfortunately, it's a strategy that has been abandoned in the face of phantom risks and delusional hopes. On one side, we're constantly told that if we don't slash spending immediately we'll end up just like Greece, unable to borrow except at exorbitant interest rates. On the other, we're told not to worry about the impact of spending cuts on jobs because fiscal austerity will actually create jobs by raising confidence.

How's that story working out so far?
Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said this:
It is ridiculous to be spending so much time yelling about the deficit at a time when 25 million people are unemployed, underemployed or out of the work force altogether.

It is especially absurd when everyone knows that the economic crisis caused by the collapse of the housing bubble is the main reason that we have large deficits today. The main reason the budget went from deficit to surplus in the 90's was the unexpected drop to 4 percent unemployment at the end of the decade, not deficit reduction measures by President Clinton and/or the Republican Congress.
From an op-ed by the Director of The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Jason Bailey:
In the short-term, the most important deficit is the jobs deficit, and plans to cut critical investments will only make that problem worse. Elimination of necessary services would ripple through local economies and cost jobs.

We can and should enact legislation that will reduce the budget deficit once the economy is back on its feet. But one necessary ingredient to a lower long-term deficit is strong economic growth, which will require investment in education, infrastructure, clean energy and other areas. A deficit reduction approach comprised entirely of cutting needed investments will harm the future growth rate.
From a statement signed by over 300 economists:
Notice that none of those people are ever on the Factor to discuss the issue, or the fact that O'Reilly never reported that over 300 economists signed that letter saying that a focus on deficit reduction could slow growth and increase unemployment - and could push us back into recession.

O'Reilly does not have them on, or report the letter, because it would kill his right-wing spin that the debt is the #1 issue facing the country today. Not to mention, ignoring the polls that say the #1 issue the people care about is jobs and the economy.

O'Dummy even ignored a Fox News poll from 5-17-11, that said this: Results from a May Fox News poll indicated that 50 percent of Americans believe that the President and Congress should focus on the "economy and jobs," while only 22 percent said they should focus on the "deficit and government spending."

Results from a 4-20-11 New York Times/CBS News poll indicated that 22 percent of Americans believe that employment is "the most important problem facing the country today," and an additional 18 percent ranked the economy as the most important issues.

Only 15 percent rated the budget deficit as the most important issue of the day.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. O'Reilly is a right-wing spin doctor who spins out right-wing propaganda about the debt issue, that is pretty much exactly what the GOP and the RNC are putting out.

It may not be word for word, but he says the exact same thing, that the debt is the #1 issue facing the country today. When it's a bold faced lie, and he knows it. So it's not only bias, it's dishonest journalism to push an agenda and an ideology.

And the worst part is that O'Reilly does all that while telling you he is looking out for the folks, as a non-partisan Independent journalist, in a no spin zone. Which is just laughable, because he is lying about all of it.

What he really does is lie to the American people with right-wing propaganda, and then claim he is a truth teller. Making O'Reilly a massive liar, with a big right-wing bias, and in reality, the king of spin.

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