Only One Side of the Debate

The push for Social Security privatization is now on.  How do we know?  Oh, it's not just because the president and his minions have been talking about it.  We know because the press is now dishing out privatization rhetoric in three-part harmony as though it were the gospel truth.

Take a look at a couple of choice examples (and note, not a Fox or a Rush among them):

• From Atrios, a dispationate treatment of the Social Security "crisis" on CNN with a wide range of guests: Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Michael Tanner of Cato, and Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition.  What, Club for Growth was busy?
• Kevin Drum tells us about a "man on the street" interview by CBS about feelings among 20-somethings about the program.  Except the man meant to represent the views of other 20-something professionals?  He's none other than Tad DeHaven, an economic policy analyst with the National Taxpayers Union and formerly with Heritage and Cato.  Heck, why not just pull in Lindsay Graham after he's done with that CNN interview, since he would be just as representative.

As I said earlier, the arguments against privatization can be framed in simple, nontechnical ways.  But that job becomes harder if the issue has already been framed for us by such one-sided reporting.