Posted on 05/19/2005 6:34:48 PM PDT by CorbyCard
Major outlets ignore Democratic Congressman’s Social Security proposal that would raise the payroll tax.
The major media have largely ignored a Democratic tax increase proposal launched this week that would place new tax burdens on workers and employers. NBC, CBS, The New York Times and The Washington Post ignored or glossed over the first Social Security plan from a Democrat, who declared that raising the payroll tax would bail out the system.
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) came forward on May 16, 2005, with his plan to “fix” Social Security’s shortfall by raising payroll taxes. NBC and CBS completely ignored the development. The New York Times and washingtonpost.com gave Wexler a nod with an Associated Press story about his bill, though they didn’t bother to cover the proposal themselves.
The focus of most of the remaining media, including Fox News’ “Special Report with Brit Hume,” ABC’s “World News Tonight,” CNN’s “Inside Politics” and The Washington Times, has been the political ramifications of Wexler’s “breaking ranks” with his party leadership. These media, however, were up front about the contents of the proposal – adding a 6 percent tax to income above $90,000, the current cap on the payroll tax’s reach.
Though The Washington Times’ headline was the misleading “Wexler offers proposal to fix Social Security,” reporter Amy Fagan was clear that the “fix” was a tax increase.
Wexler’s bill would raise taxes to address the $11 trillion shortfall the Social Security Administration estimates the system faces in the future.
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