As I have explained not quite at length, the relevant economic theory is The Old Mother Riley School of Economics, an American version in Enronomics. They are quite simple to understand, which is why C4 and others go rabbiting around looking for unusual suspects.
Channel 4 News seems pretty lefty. Faisal Islam, who also blogs for them, seems a standard Keynesian, and Jon Snow is pretty left-wing, too. That said, apart from perhaps Newsnight, it is probably the best news program on TV: BBC 1's news is lefty, too, but, with just a half hour slot, does not go to the depth of reporting that Channel 4 does.
Richard Garner, the best news programme on TV is Jeff Randall Live on Sky News. By far.
Fair enough - I was speaking only from my own experience, and I get Virgin media, so, no sky for me!
Maybe I do them an injustice, but I have a sneaking suspicion that most Channel 4 media types get their knowledge of liberal economics (and the entire variety of modern American thought) from slighting references in Naomi Klein and Adam Curtis.
This post reminds me (again) of one of my favourite quotes from William Blake.
He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: general Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer, for Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized Particulars.
Usually I dig up this quote as a scorn on the general do gooder mentality of socialist and other social engineering intentions, but I think, from this discussion, that it can be applied to economics as well. With so many insights from the age of enlightenment this also was penned 200 odd years ago.
[open sarcasm] I am shocked, shocked to the core. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this smacked of disinformation!
Maybe the problem is that these issues are often highly complex and difficult to portray intelligently in a 5-minute news slot.
That is the most likely explanation, isn't it, boys and girls? [/close sarcasm]
It's pretty funny to assume that a news slot of any length is intended to inform an intelligent audience.
Any mass media coverage of economic matters is hilariously flawed, in fact MSM coverage of anything is usually flawed.
But, when you read bilge like this(Link) from the august personage that is the Chairman of the FSA, it's hardly surprising that us mere laymen cannot grasp complicated economic concepts.
Yes, Lord Turner. It's absolutely obvious that the answer to the 'problem' of 'excessive' bonuses is to create a special tax that reduces the 'spare' cash profits. How could we have not thought of something this obvious before?
All British television and radio is a mixture of leftist ideology and just simple ignorance.
As for the specific point of the article - the Chicago School is split, some of them oppose trying to "spend your way out of recession" and some of them (like the Keynesians) support bailouts "even if we have to throw money from helicopters".
Appealing the memory of Milton Friedman does not help - as he (at various times) took BOTH positions.
Of course Comrade Barack Obama has a plan to make American television and radio like British broadcasting. Mark Lloyd (the "diversity officer" at the FCC) has plans, including 100% taxes, to made sure that dissenting voices (such as people who know something about Austrian School economics - the great enemy of Marxism) are removed from broadcasting in the United States.
Although, unlike Lord Turner, Mark Lloyd openly supports such Comrades as Hugo Chevez.
I tried to warn people last year - and Glenn Beck (among others) is warning far more people now.
Heed the warnings - for reason's sake heed the warnings.
Barack Obama is not some some Gordon Brown clone - he is a much worse thing, a much worse thing indeed.
People like Mark Lloyd and Van Jones (the "Green Jobs" Communist) do not appear by magic - they are appointed directly by President Barack Obama.
All British television and radio is a mixture of leftist ideology and just simple ignorance.
Isn't that redundant?
Yes, clearly the Chicago school insisted on the Community Reinvestment Act forcing banks to lend to bad credit risks. Perhaps Barney Frank can get to the bottom of this!
To some extent yes Laird.
As someone can consider himself a non leftist (or even an anti leftists) but, because he is ignorant of anything but leftist ideas, come out with leftist propaganda whenever he talks about economic policy (or history, or culture, or....).
Ludwig Von Mises often noted the point you have made - but I had (in my writing above) forgotten it.
Still there is a difference - the ignorant man is at least trying to be honest.
The committed leftist does not care if he fakes film and documents, misquotes people (and so on and so on).
Indeed the committed leftist (such as the people who run C4 news) hold such activties to be highly moral - as they are for the cause.
{sigh} Paul, that was intended as a (feeble) joke. Do I really have to put emoticons in my posts? ;-p
My apologies Laird.
It is no reflection on your abilty as a joke smith.
It is simply a matter of my underdeveloped sense of humour.