FAIR challenges biased media reporting of People's Budget vs Ryan Budget

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has challenged the corporate media for their lopsided reporting of the budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc) and the People's Budget (proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

'Serious’ Republicans vs.‘Starry-Eyed’ Progressives

Beltway media scorn People’s Budget, hail Ryan hoax
The budget proposal released on April 5 by Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wisc.) includes tax cuts for the wealthy, tax hikes for the middle class, drastic cuts in social spending and a radical restructuring of Medicare that would shift most of the cost of healthcare to seniors. Its dubious claims of deficit reduction rely on fatally flawed assumptions and inexplicable projections (CBPP, 4/7/11; CEPR, 4/11).

Meanwhile, the 76-member Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled its own “People’s Budget” proposal on April 13, which would eliminate the deficit in 10 years without eroding social services or raising taxes on the working class. Serious economists like Paul Krugman (New York Times, 4/25/11) and Jeffrey Sachs (Huffington Post, 4/8/11) have spoken out in favor of the People’s Budget as, in Krugman’s words, a “genuinely courageous” plan and “the only major budget proposal out there offering a plausible path to balancing the budget.”

Guess which one the Beltway media have embraced?

For the rest of the story, click here.

FAIR is circulating a petition to encourage more balanced reporting of the US budget negotiations, you can sign the petition here.