Home
Media Bias Outrage/Week
Outrage of the Month
Outrage Archive
On The Offensive
On The Offensive Archive
Hot Topic Links
Special Features
Activism
Press Releases
Rolodex
Activist Handbook
Thread Archive
Identify Media Bias
Mission Statement
Guestbook
Contact Us

08/27/2001
Elizabeth Vargas used the anchor desk at ABC's World News Tonight to frighten folks about their Social Security. On Wednesday, 8/22/01, she led the newscast with this teaser: "Gambling with the federal budget surplus. Billions of dollars evaporate into thin air. Is your Social security money at risk?" Shame on you, Elizabeth!

The current federal budget surplus is still the second largest in history. The dirty little secret here is that for years the FICA taxes collected have exceeded the payouts and this money has always been spent on other federal programs. The decision to be made now is whether to again spend the surplus on other programs or to put it toward the national debt. But whatever happens, none of it is going into Social Security.

ABC saw no need to mention any of that. They know that if they can frighten people who depend on Social Security and other government programs, they can keep them voting for Democrats. And of course they hope that these scared viewers will stay tuned to ABC for more misinformation!

In their analysis of this story, the Media Research Center said, "(ABC did not address) the propriety of the government running a surplus during an economic downturn and. . . made only passing reference to the role of spending, but only in the future, not how it has already contributed to a smaller surplus. After highlighting how Democrats blame the tax cut, ABC's Terry Moran noted: 'But White House officials insist the money is there, and the only real threat to the budget comes from congressional overspending.'"

Here's a reality check for you:

• "The tax cut didn't reduce the surplus as much as last December's spending spree. The economic slowdown cut the surplus by $46 billion, tax rebates by an additional $40 billion, an accounting shift regarding corporate taxes by $28 billion, and some spending bills passed this year by $9 billion. Last December's appropriations bills increased spending by $50 billion - larger than any of these other factors." National Review
• "The economy began softening in the middle of last year, months before President Bush took office and long before the tax cut was approved. And none of the pro-growth elements of the tax cut, from release of the estate or "death" tax to cuts in tax rates, has been implemented yet. (Yes, the government has been mailing "rebate" checks, but while this may boost consumer spending it won't increase economic output.)" The Heritage Foundation
• "The blame for lower budget windfalls rests squarely on the shoulders of big-spenders, not tax cutters," said NTU Director of Congressional Relations Eric V. Schlecht. "The idea that tax reductions are somehow responsible for revised budget projections, while spending has been rising and continues to soar, is the height of fiscal folly." National Taxpayers Union

Let's let ABC World News Tonight and Elizabeth Vargas know that we do not appreciate their attempts to terrify and mislead! Here is the contact information:

ABC
77 West 66th Street
New York, New York 10023

Contact page

Phone 212-456-4040
Fax 212-456-2795

You can also fight back by learning more about the subject. Here are a few good articles about Social Security and the budget surplus:

National Review, Washington Bulletin
National Taxpayers Union, Bloated Spending to Blame for Sapping Budget Surpluses, Study Shows
The Heritage Foundation, Social Security & the Budget: Exposing the Myths
The Heritage Foundation, Ten Deceptive Myths About Social Security, The Budget and the Economy
Human Events, Surge in Spending Caused Dwindling Surplus