Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Spinning of Employment and Unemployment Numbers

During a recent news search online I stumbled across an amusing satirical article by Eoin O'Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor.

This article was poking fun at a recent report about the inability of American to pass a citizenship test. At the bottom of the article there was a link that read “RELATED: Are you smarter than a Fox News viewer? Take our quiz.” I clicked the link and was presented with a quiz, the first question being:

1.Is it your impression that most economists who have studied it estimate that the stimulus legislation:
1) Saved or created several million jobs
2) Saved or created a few jobs
3) Caused job losses.

I stopped after reading this question because I remembered this from somewhere. My suspicions were correct when I read the pages fine print.

“…American voters were quizzed on their knowledge of issues and facts raised in the 2010 midterm elections, in a survey by World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.

Respondents were also asked where they get their news from: Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, newspapers, network TV news, public broadcasting.

The survey found that "substantial levels of misinformation were present in the daily consumers of all news sources." But Fox News viewers were significantly more likely to be misinformed than those who get their news from other sources. And, greater exposure to Fox News increased the degree to which viewers were misinformed…”
I remember hearing about this “study” and a subsequent rebuttal by Lee Doren on his “How the World Works” YouTube channel. Please go watch it after you read this article.

Libya vs. Iraq

Stossel Pigford

Democrats Taxing Your Odometer

Wait, What?!