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One Fox News chart that will mislead you about welfare and jobs in three different ways
One Fox News chart that will mislead you about welfare and jobs in three different ways
by Laura Clawson
One chart. Three forms of dishonesty. It must be Fox News.
First off, this chart, which claims to compare the number of people on government assistance with the number of people with full-time jobs, starts somewhere around the 100 million mark. The numbers given are 108.6 million and 101.7 million, but the scale of the graph means that the purported number of people on welfare looks several times as large as the number of people with full-time jobs. Anyone glancing at the screen quickly and not thinking about how far apart those numbers actually are will be seriously misled.
Second, Media Matters points out:
A side point that's obvious if you understand the comparison Fox is making here is that many in the 108.6 million receiving government assistance are children, disabled people, or senior citizens—groups that most of us, though perhaps not Fox, don't really expect to be working full time.
Finally, it's not like people working full time and people receiving government assistance are mutually exclusive groups. In fact, a lot of people work full time and also get food stamps or other nutrition assistance, rental assistance, or other forms of aid, thanks to low-wage employers like fast food chains and Walmart.
When you're Fox News and your only interest is in stigmatizing poor people and gutting the safety net, though, little distinctions like these don't matter.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251247/-One-Fox-News-chart-that-will-mislead-you-about-welfare-and-jobs-in-three-different-ways
by Laura Clawson
One chart. Three forms of dishonesty. It must be Fox News.
First off, this chart, which claims to compare the number of people on government assistance with the number of people with full-time jobs, starts somewhere around the 100 million mark. The numbers given are 108.6 million and 101.7 million, but the scale of the graph means that the purported number of people on welfare looks several times as large as the number of people with full-time jobs. Anyone glancing at the screen quickly and not thinking about how far apart those numbers actually are will be seriously misled.
Second, Media Matters points out:
Fox's 108.6 million figure for the number of "people on welfare" comes from a Census Bureau's account (Table 2) of participation in means-tested programs, which include "anyone residing in a household in which one or more people received benefits" in the fourth quarter of 2011, thus including individuals who did not themselves receive government benefits. On the other hand, the "people with a full time job" figure Fox used included only individuals who worked, not individuals residing in a household where at least one person works.
A side point that's obvious if you understand the comparison Fox is making here is that many in the 108.6 million receiving government assistance are children, disabled people, or senior citizens—groups that most of us, though perhaps not Fox, don't really expect to be working full time.
Finally, it's not like people working full time and people receiving government assistance are mutually exclusive groups. In fact, a lot of people work full time and also get food stamps or other nutrition assistance, rental assistance, or other forms of aid, thanks to low-wage employers like fast food chains and Walmart.
When you're Fox News and your only interest is in stigmatizing poor people and gutting the safety net, though, little distinctions like these don't matter.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251247/-One-Fox-News-chart-that-will-mislead-you-about-welfare-and-jobs-in-three-different-ways
Fox Noise: Distortions 24/7 with the goal of screwing over the most vulnerable Americans
Food stamps are on the chopping block again as House and Senate farm bill negotiations start
by Laura Clawson
The House and Senate are heading into negotiations over their vastly different farm bills this week, and if House Republicans get their way, the outcome will be huge cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Food stamp cuts are coming no matter what—in addition to the benefit cuts starting Nov. 1, as added stimulus funding disappears, the Senate farm bill cuts the program by about $400 million a year—cuts that 39 Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, are urging the conference committee reject. But that's nothing compared to the $4 billion a year in cuts in the House bill.
The farm bill will affect most Americans—it's relevant not just to farmers and SNAP participants but to consumers. For instance, if the bill isn't passed, milk prices could rise sharply when price supports expire. It's also not happening in a vacuum, and there are some worrying signs on that front:
Food stamp "savings" are anything but. In addition to the people who will go hungry as a result of those cuts, SNAP funds serve as economic stimulus; "CBO rated an increase in SNAP benefits as one of the two most cost-effective of all spending and tax options it examined for boosting growth and jobs in a weak economy." As such, the program is a perfect test of whether Republicans really want to help the economy. It's a test they fail, along with the humanity test of taking food from the mouths of children.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251245/-Food-stamps-are-on-the-chopping-block-again-as-House-and-Senate-farm-bill-negotiations-start
by Laura Clawson
The House and Senate are heading into negotiations over their vastly different farm bills this week, and if House Republicans get their way, the outcome will be huge cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Food stamp cuts are coming no matter what—in addition to the benefit cuts starting Nov. 1, as added stimulus funding disappears, the Senate farm bill cuts the program by about $400 million a year—cuts that 39 Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, are urging the conference committee reject. But that's nothing compared to the $4 billion a year in cuts in the House bill.
The farm bill will affect most Americans—it's relevant not just to farmers and SNAP participants but to consumers. For instance, if the bill isn't passed, milk prices could rise sharply when price supports expire. It's also not happening in a vacuum, and there are some worrying signs on that front:
One way to pass the bill quickly could be to wrap it into budget negotiations that will be going on at the same time. The farm bill is expected to save tens of billions of dollars through food stamp cuts and eliminating some subsidy programs, and "that savings has become more key as we go into budget negotiations," (Democratic Sen. Amy) Klobuchar said.
Food stamp "savings" are anything but. In addition to the people who will go hungry as a result of those cuts, SNAP funds serve as economic stimulus; "CBO rated an increase in SNAP benefits as one of the two most cost-effective of all spending and tax options it examined for boosting growth and jobs in a weak economy." As such, the program is a perfect test of whether Republicans really want to help the economy. It's a test they fail, along with the humanity test of taking food from the mouths of children.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251245/-Food-stamps-are-on-the-chopping-block-again-as-House-and-Senate-farm-bill-negotiations-start
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017147274
The Hidden Benefits of Food Stamps = Food stamps lifted a record 4 million people out of poverty
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023937354
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