Analysis:
on April 15 Both WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 ran stories about tax day. In the story they both used the same footage of Chris Edwards, a researcher from the Cato Institute. Beyond that, both stations framed the story in the same manner, and used the same budget statistics form the Cato Institute. In both instances, the pieces start off by saying that most Americans think that most of their taxes go to paying for the war in Iraq but that actually the biggest amounts go to social security and Medicare. Then they run the clip of Chris Edwards saying “About 40% of the whole budget now goes to the elderly, it’s essentially money taxed from the young and it goes to old folks.” This is followed by the newsreader providing statistics, saying “Medicaid and Medicare gets 20 %, another 20% goes to Social Security, 19% is spent on defense, 7% pays interest on debt, Education gets 3% and transportation receives 2%. These statistics are a bit odd in that they add up to only 71%. At no point in these stories are the other 29% of the budget accounted for.
It should be noted that the Cato institute is a very well funded think tank that has an ideological bias. In fact Cato does more than just issue reports, they publicly advocate. Earlier this month they announced the launch of a $125,000 radio advertising campaign to promote Social Security privatization. The fact that both stations used the exact same footage of a Cato researcher and framed their stories in the same manner would indicate that these stories were actually not original pieces created by the WZZM and WXMI but rather put together using promotional materials provided by Cato Institute.
As to the missing 29%, according to the pie chart that is included on the back of the annual federal tax guide booklet, 13% is “other” and 19% is “non-military discretionary spending”. Every year War Resistors League put out their own pie chart which they claim is a more accurate depiction of the amount spent on military spending. In their model they put the percentage of tax money spent on defense at closer to 48%, noting that the 19% figure provided by the government does not include factors such as military spending within non-military agencies, such a NASA, social spending on veterans, interest paid on debts resulting from past wars or the current Iraq war which is paid for by “supplemental allowances” not included in the budget. Like Cato, War Resistors League have an agenda, albeit a very different one from Cato, so we would encourage people to go to check out the source material which is linked here.
Story:
Channel 13 story:
Newsreader - If you haven’t done your taxes yet, you could be in for a long night. On average it takes the typical American about 26 hours to complete al the forms. And then do you know where that money goes once you pay? Well most Americans think it goes to the military to pay for the Iraqi war, but half of all the federal tax money now funds Medicare and Social Security.
Chris Edwards (Cato Institute) – About 40% of the whole budget now goes to the elderly. It’s essentially money taxed from the young and it goes to old folks.”
Newsreader – According to the Cato Institute Medicaid and Medicare gets 20 %, another 20% goes to Social Security, 19% is spent on defense, 7% pays interest on debt, Education gets 3% and transportation receives 2%. And here in Michigan 80% of the returns were filed electronically. State Treasury officials say Michigan could wind up processing more electronic returns than any other state except for California and New York. Most people are getting a refund; the average so far this year is 2,189 dollars. An interest free loan to the government. Now if there’s no way you can finish your taxes, you can file an extension, just go to the IRS website and download form 4868 which gives you until August 15th, but if you think you owe money, remember the extension does not include or doesn’t give you more time to pay, doesn’t work both ways see, experts say estimate the amount to pay no to avoid penalties and interest. If you know you can’t pay all of the taxes, you can also se4tup a payment plan with the IRS. And tax day is our big story online, just go to WZZM 13 .com and click on the Big Story icon there, you’ll find a countdown clock, links to all federal and state forms and publications and information and how you can keep track of your refund.
Total time: 1 minute, 51 seconds
Channel 17 story:
Newsreader - Well we all know by now its tax day, but do you know where you federal income tax dollars are going? Experts sat the majority of Americans don’t, its top in tonight’s Business Download. Analysts say most people think the majority of their taxes go to the military, but almost half of all federal tax money now funds Medicare and social security due to the rising cost of health care.
Chris Edwards - About 40% of the whole budget goes to the elderly. It’s essentially money taxed from the young and it goes to the old folks.
Newsreader - And here’s a breakdown of where most of your federal tax dollars go, again 40% towards the elderly, 19% goes to defense, 7% pays for interest on the countries debt, 3% for education, and 2% for transportation.
