If you didn't know that Important Fact (75%) -- you are not alone:
Poll: Americans Don't Know Economy Expanded With Tax Cuts
Bloomberg
Heidi Przybyla, John McCormick, Oct 29, 2010
The Obama administration cut taxes for middle-class Americans, expects to make a profit on the hundreds of billions of dollars spent to rescue Wall Street banks and has overseen an economy that has grown for the past five quarters.
Most voters don’t believe it.
A Bloomberg National Poll conducted Oct. 24-26 finds that by a two-to-one margin, likely voters in the Nov. 2 midterm elections think taxes have gone up, the economy has shrunk, and the billions lent to banks as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program won’t be recovered.
"The public view of the economy is at odds with the facts, and the blame has to go to the Democrats," said J. Ann Selzer, president of [... the] firm that conducted the nationwide survey. "It does not matter much if you make change, if you do not communicate change."
It's election season. (Duh!)
The Economy is lackluster. People are angry.
Anger is a volatile emotion. Sometimes Facts have a hard time breaking through.
Sometimes People have to be reminded about "root causes" ... in order to accurately direct that anger.
To break down the Myths fueling the emotions ...
Debunking some myths about this election year
John Farmer, The Star-Ledger - Oct 24, 2010
[Myth] No. 1: Government caused the current economic crash.
Actually, it was caused by a failure of our semi-free market system. Wall Street imploded the system by overloading it with new and little-understood financial instruments based largely on worthless mortgages and securities.
[...]
[Myth] No. 3: Obama’s bank and auto rescues are costly failures.
This one, a GOP favorite, is wrong on a host of counts.
TARP, the bank rescue, wasn’t even President Obama’s baby; he’s merely its foster parent. George W. Bush, to his credit, put it in place in the fall of 2008 as the banking system teetered toward collapse. Obama wisely continued it. Without a vibrant private banking system to supply credit, capitalism as we know it would be kaput.
[...]
But what of the cost? Not as great as feared. The banks have repaid much of the TARP money, and some is coming in from the auto companies. Just having them back in the black means more local, state and federal tax income.
All in all, a better deal than the GOP would have us believe.
[Myth] No. 4: Taxes have jumped as a result of Obama policies.
Actually, they’ve gone down for most Americans, though polls indicate most people think the opposite.
When and how did that occur? The vehicle was the Obama stimulus package, a special target of GOP rage. Roughly one-third of the $787 billion stimulus money went to Tax Cuts for individuals and businesses. The typical American family got $800 a year.
And Sometimes cold hard Facts -- are the only thing that will break through the Angry Rhetoric.
Sometimes people need to be reminded of recent history -- including recent successes.
Fact checking TARP's cheerleaders
by Ryan Holeywell, bailoutsleuth - Oct 4, 2010 5:16 PM
TARP provided crucial assistance to small businesses, community banks, American automakers, and struggling homeowners.
[...]
TARP did all this at a cost dramatically lower than first expected. Estimates of that program's costs continue to fall, and we continue to withdraw our support for the private sector more quickly than anticipated. Treasury is now confident that TARP will cost less than $50 billion -- a fraction of the $700 billion originally authorized.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office actually puts the cost higher, around $66 billion, though that's still an improvement from its estimate earlier this year of $109 billion (and vastly better than the $700 billion that some people think the program costs).
American taxpayers have already been repaid nearly $234 billion in TARP funds, and we have proposed to ensure they are repaid in full by enacting a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.
If only we had a News Media -- more focused on explaining Facts -- than focused on stirring up Emotions --
Perhaps these "successes" would be "common knowledge" ...
If Only.
What You Haven't Heard About TARP
financialstability.gov -- October 3, 2010
[...] With all the myths you’ve likely heard about TARP, though, sometimes the truth gets lost in the shuffle. But here are the facts:
-- TARP broke the back of a growing panic, recapitalized the financial system, restarted the credit markets, and lowered borrowing costs for businesses and families. That made the recovery possible. Independent experts agree that TARP, along with the government’s other responses to the financial crisis, saved nearly 8.5 million American jobs, helping to prevent the recession from turning into another Great Depression
-- TARP provided crucial assistance to small businesses, community banks, American automakers, and struggling homeowners.
-- TARP did all this at a cost dramatically lower than first expected. Estimates of that program’s costs continue to fall, and we continue to withdraw our support for the private sector more quickly than anticipated. Treasury is now confident that TARP will cost less than $50 billion -- a fraction of the $700 billion originally authorized.
-- American taxpayers have already been repaid nearly $234 billion in TARP funds, and we have proposed to ensure they are repaid in full by enacting a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.
-- No More TARPs. The Obama Administration worked tirelessly with Congress to enact the Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which ends taxpayer-funded bailouts.
[...]
TARP Helped Main Street Banks and Small Businesses. TARP invested in over 450 small and community banks.
[...]
TARP Protected US Manufacturing and Jobs by Helping to Save the American Auto Industry. [...] TARP investments in GM and Chrysler [...] have helped turn the industry around and save one million jobs. Since GM and Chrysler have emerged from bankruptcy, the auto industry has added 76,300 jobs – the strongest growth in 10 years
[...]
TARP is Now Expected to Cost Less than $50 Billion -- A Fraction of the $700 Billion Originally Authorized.
[...]
Taxpayer Returns Already Total $234 Billion, and We Want to Make Sure Taxpayers Are Repaid in Full. Taxpayers have already received a combined $234 billion in revenue from TARP investments. Three-fourths of the TARP funds provided to banks have already been returned, and taxpayers will ultimately receive a substantial profit from those investments.
Who Knew!?
If only we had Real Journalism, as a Goal in the Traditional Media -- we all would.
But alas we no longer have a News Media Industry -- that sees it as their "duty" to inform, to explain, to educate, the People who ultimately pay their bills.
We no longer have a News Media Industry that sees that importance of Fact Checking.
Sadly we NOW have a Media an Industry that would rather stir up controversy -- strengthen Myths and Talking Points -- than chase down, and explain those oh-so "boring facts".
The hotter the spin room Debates the better -- the better for Ratings!
And Ratings trump Facts, far too often in our Modern Media world.
And America is much poorer because of it. (literally ... Where did all those "Good Jobs" Go? ... Hmmm?)
America is only as "rich" as the Quality of its Journalism.
There's a reason WHY the Free Press, was put in as the First Amendment --
too bad those reasons are so easily forgotten, so easily eroded, and "rationalized away" ...
Too bad for Democracy. ... and our "Grand Experiment in Freedom".
freedom of the press, of speech, of religion.
freedom of the individual. (and NOT the Corporate-type. Grrrr.)
Did you know 75% of TARP Funds have Already been Repaid?
NOW you Do! ... hopefully.
Thank you for reading.