Three Cheers for Eric Stern

Anybody else tired of the distortions, misinformation, half-truths and lies about the Affordable Care Act?   We've talked about the big money being spent on the campaign designed to discourage people from enrolling in the ACA program.  And of course Fox News continues its endless deluge of negative opining about "Obamacare."  You probably know about Sean Hannity's hour-long show on October 11; it focused on the "disaster" that is Obamacare.  To beef up his case, Hannity had three "typical" couples as guests—all white,  3 men and 3 women—the usual Republican diversity.   These guests made claims about their experiences with bad ole Obamacare.   It's chilling to think of the number of viewers who don't realize that Fox churns out far more propaganda in its programming than news, which is customarily a factual reporting of events.

 

Let's hear it for investigative journalism! It's heartening every time I'm reminded investigative journalists still exist in the rapid-fire 24/7 news world.  Salon.com writer Eric Stern watched that Hannity show and smelled a rat.   He did some research and interviewed the couples he'd seen on the show.  Too bad Mr. Hannity didn't do the same before his guests made their appearance.  Stern learned that claims made simply were not so.  These people made their complaints without so much as a look at the exchanges or, sounds to me, without attempting to learn about the new health care law. They don't like Obamacare.  Don't bother them with facts, their minds are made up.    Fox counts on that in their loyal viewers—not big fact-checkers, those folks.  I'd guess Hannity's guests are single-news-source consumers.  Here's a link to Eric Stern's post:  http://www.salon.com/2013/10/18/inside_the_fox_news_lie_machine_i_fact_checked_sean_hannity_on_obamacare/

 

Also, I'll share a link to economist Mark Zandi (Moody's Analytics) debunking claims that the ACA is negatively impacting full-time work.  It's not, despite stories on Fox, right-wing talk radio and even some real news sources.  Check it out:  http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/09/05/economist-mark-zandi-debunks-myth-that-obamacar/195739

                 

 By the way, when you hear "Business is saying insurance under the ACA is too expensive," remember this:   Too often greed is the motivating factor in "business" arriving at such conclusions.   These are probably people who'd like to lower the minimum wage or, better yet,  do away with it altogether.  Not losing a lot of sleep over the plight of their workers. As long as CEO's and upper level executives can buy items like oriental rugs that cost more than one of their employees can spend on food, housing and other basic living expenses for an entire year, I'll be taking their whiny claims with a big block of salt.