Bits and Pieces 14: Misinformation Trumps Facts on the Economy
- There has been a tremendous amount of worry about the US deficit, but most of it is stirred up by propaganda that ignores the economic data. Here is what the Nobel prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, had to say about the deficit.
Here is the data that shows what he means.
The Motley Fool reported on a recent Google consumer survey which asked the question, “How do you think the US Federal Government’s yearly budget deficit has changed since January 2010?” With 665 responses from around the country spanning a wide variety of demographics, here’s what it found. Respondents thought the deficit had:
Increased a lot 41%
Increased a little 14%
About the same 24%
Why are so many people getting it wrong? They get misinformation from their Congressional Representatives, who should know better. Many of the Representatives probably do, but why tell the truth if misinformation works to their advantage?
(c) 2013 J.C. Moore
Tags: misinformation, Paul Krugman, politics, President Obama, the-us-deficit
Posted on August 23rd, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Some politicians would like to credit the sequester, but the deficit began going down in 2010, long before the sequester was enacted. Also, the sequester is expected to decrease the US GDP somewhere between by 7% to 14%, much more than was cut.