Wash. Post turns news pages over to conservative billionaire Peterson's news service
The Washington Post published in its news pages an article by The Fiscal Times -- "an independent digital news publication reporting on fiscal, budgetary, health-care and international economics issues" -- that promoted the creation of a task force to reduce the deficit in part through cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. But the Post did not disclose that the Times is funded by conservative billionaire Peter G. Peterson, whose organizations have long advocated reducing the deficit through entitlement cuts and have called for the creation of such a commission.
Post publishes Times' piece promoting deficit-reduction commission in news section
Times article runs in Post's news section. The Fiscal Times article ran on Page A10 of the December 31 edition of the Post. The article's byline noted that authors Elaine S. Povich and Eric Pianin report for The Fiscal Times; a note at the end of the article stated that it "was produced by the Fiscal Times, an independent digital news publication reporting on fiscal, budgetary, health-care and international economics issues."
Article declares "Support grows for tackling nation's debt," touts proposed task force. The article, headlined "Support grows for tackling nation's debt," reported that recent Senate actions "gave a significant boost to a proposal to appoint a special commission to make the tough decisions that will be required to dig the nation out of debt," and stated that "35 Democratic and Republican senators have signed on to legislation that would create a bipartisan commission with broad power to force painful spending cuts and tax increases through Congress." The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), would "create an 18-member task force consisting of 16 members of Congress and two administration officials. Under the proposal, if at least 14 of the panel members reached agreement on how to rein in skyrocketing spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and reform the tax code, Congress would have to consider it immediately and give it an up or down vote, without amendment."
Article quotes statement of support from executive director of Peterson-headed group. The Times quoted Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, "a nonpartisan group that advocates entitlement reform and balanced budgets," who stated: "I think there's more interest in the proposal not only in Congress but at the White House because there's a growing realization the deficit and the debt are reaching such levels they can't be ignored any longer." Neither the Times nor the Post disclosed that Peterson is founder and president of the Concord Coalition.
Times ignores opponents of such a task force. While the Times quoted Sen. John Rockefeller's (D-WV) comments that a prior deficit-reduction panel had been ineffective and reported that AARP official John Rother "questions whether a new commission could find additional cuts" in Medicare and Medicaid and "doubts that a new commission could persuade Republicans to support raising taxes," the article reported no statements from individuals or groups opposing the creation of such a task force. In fact, more than 40 national progressive organizations signed a letter to President Obama and members of the House and Senate expressing "strong opposition to proposals to create an entitlements or deficit-reduction commission that would override the normal legislative process and replace it with expedited procedures prohibiting amendments and limiting debate."
Article first product of Times/Post "partnership." According to a December 17 Fiscal Times press release, "The Fiscal Times and the Washington Post have agreed to jointly produce content focusing on budget and fiscal issues that will be available to both publications. The content will complement the Post's budget and finance coverage, and will include profiles of key government officials, explanations of important budget trends or proposals and investigative analysis of government spending programs."
Times funded by Peterson, whose organizations support task force's creation
Peterson providing initial funding for Times. According to the press release announcing its launch, the Times "has been funded initially by Peter G. Peterson." A January 2 Politico article reported that Pianin, the Times' Washington editor, "said that Peterson and his Peter G. Peterson Foundation have no editorial input."
Peterson a conservative billionaire who heads groups focused on deficit reduction. According to his Forbes profile, Peterson has a net worth of $1.7 billion after serving as chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers in the 1970s and 1980s, and then co-founding the private equity firm The Blackstone Group. He previously served as secretary of commerce under President Nixon. Peterson is president and co-founder of the Concord Coalition, whose website states the organization "is dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America's unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound economy for future generations." He is also founder and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, whose mission is "to increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key economic challenges threatening America's future and accelerate action on them."
Peterson Foundation president: Task force "necessary" to restore "sustainable fiscal path." In November 10 congressional testimony, David Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, endorsed the task force promoted in the Fiscal Times article and stated: "I would like to commend Chairman Conrad and Senator Gregg for their public calls for action to ensure the long-term stability and sustainability of our nation's finances. They are right to be concerned regarding the need to address the federal government's deteriorating financial condition. They are also correct in recognizing that a special process will be necessary to achieve the types of actions needed to put our country on a more prudent and sustainable fiscal path."
Concord Coalition "praised" Conrad and Gregg for introducing task force legislation promoted by Times. A December 9 Concord Coalition press release stated that the group "praised" Gregg and Conrad "for reintroducing legislation to create a bipartisan task force charged with developing legislative solutions to the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance" and quoted Bixby saying that such a commission "could break the partisan gridlock and develop a credible marker for action."
K Graham must be turning over from the invasion of the right into her beloved paper.
Here's hoping she haunts Fred Hyatt.
Balancing the budget on spending cuts isn't merely something that's never worked before. It's something that's never even pretended to work before.
but they dont its sheer greed that drives them thats all it is and ever was that drives them
In the immortal words of Walter in "The Big Lebowski", Richard Nixon was "an amateur, man."
And, oh joy, the Washington Post gets to assist.
There isn't a newspaper in this country that knows how to do the job of gathering and printing the news. Investigative journalism is dead thanks to people like Peterson who organize groups that print news releases that allow editors to fill the space.
Who needs reporters when you can slap a headline on a news release and make deadline?
Senator Conrad should be very wary of Peterson and how he accumulated his wealth. Everybody is watching and unless Peterson includes regulations of the investment business and the banking business, then he is as complicit as they all are.
Peter created a Foundation to accelerate government action and profile government officials. Not only is it impossible for a foundation to accelerate government action, but anyone with any sense can smell a rat trying to blackmail government officials and call it polite. John Perkins, of Speaking Freely, Volume 1, can tell you all about corporations, foundations and international banks blackmailing government officials. Does anyone want to take a guess as to why it is impossible for a foundation to “accelerate government action?”
I love quotes that prove my point: "For better or worse, the eyes of the financial world from New York to Hong Kong to London are now focused squarely on Washington.” "By creating a publication that seeks to become the most trusted news source for unbiased journalism covering government policy and economic issues, we believe we will find an underserved readership." "There has never been a greater public appetite for the kind of groundbreaking reporting and commentary The Fiscal Times is committed to producing."
You know, it’s true there is an underserved readership. If anyone wants to research Rupert Murdoch and his “War on Journalism,” go right ahead, but we all know the public hasn’t been served by the media, already; and we don’t expect that to change with an agreement by the Wapo and the pumpkin eater. And as for public appetite, when these two “legal” persons get together and fail to report how 40, (count ‘em, forty) National Organizations, made up of thousands of real people (instead of “legal” people) already sidelined the astoundingly simplistic idea of replacing one form of blackmail with another for the same fiat, then I doubt any appetites will be sated by the “partnership” or the effort.
I normally ignore the heck out of any and all US news organizations, but I ceded and went to Wapo’s site, just to find out what kind of comments real people were posting to the story. To summarize:
The general consensus seems to be that the article itself should come with a warning label, much like Don Lapre’s informercials. Not only should the “creditworthy” see to their own backyards, but they should send the bill for both wars to Bush’s CPA. Speaking of Bush, they might also want to suggest that the government have Bush’s retirement plan reimburse all those big-pharma targets, and seeing as Bush brought up the Social Security IOUs in 2003 but did nothing about them from 2004-2008, maybe his oil buddies want to lend him a hand, but I doubt the Republican Party gives a damn about his record. But I digress. Complaints of wapo spam are cropping up; and it’s time for Eric Holder to do something about the bookies on Wal-Street. Then again, there’s this link: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010015301/protest-washington-posts-deal-let-pete-peterson-write-news and while we are at it, let’s not forget that if Obama had stayed on the Bush plan, the Country would be 2 trillion more in the hole than it is.
Now let’s talk politics. Do you know who Peter is? He’s former CFR, for Pete’s sake. We all know what a bang-up job our foreign relations folks have done in the last few decades. Not to mention Peter was born in Nineteen Twenty Six! He and Murdoch should get together and trade stories about the Neanderthals they used to roast marshmallows with. Or maybe Peter could tell Rupert about the time he and Nixon… you remember Nixon – he’s the one that thought it was a great idea to take a kickback from Kaiser.
I’m not into the finances of this government. The way I figure it, taxpayers get born every day, and another thing: If there is a President, and a Congress, then those folks want their jobs or they would not have worked so hard to get them. If they bankrupt the government, then they are out of a job! I don’t think that’s going to happen, do you? I’m thinking that Obama is doing fine, considering that Bush left the government reputation in the circular file on the way out the door.
What I don’t think is okay is a rag like wapo teaming up with a whore that didn’t even get funded with fiat, but with an “endowment,” and trying to blackmail government officials by stating the intent of government officials (instead of quoting), overestimating the numbers of government officials who might like their tried and failed ideas, and taking advantage of the supreme, short-sighted stupidity of a bunch of black-robed idiots that don’t have to do a damn thing but take money to pretend to do a job they never retire from.