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Free Market Project -
Auditing the media's coverage of the free enterprise system
Volume 1
�
Issue 12
� November 2, 2005
In this issue: Lower My Prices! � Taxing Free Enterprise � Death
of a Dream? � Good, Bad & Ugly
Links: Energy � Health Care � Tax & Spend � Free Market � Events |
New from the Free Market Project
Fueling Outrage
The media love David and Goliath stories, and they�ve manufactured another
one pitting the Poor Innocent Consumer vs. Big Bad Oil. The problem is,
oil companies didn�t set the prices that led to their recent high profits.
That was the work of old-fashioned market forces. Now angry consumers and
politicians want to hit the companies with new taxes, which would limit
the gasoline supply � ironically, the opposite of their goal to make gas
more accessible.
Herman Cain: Punishing Profits
Politicians on the left and the right are
calling for a �windfall profits tax� on oil companies� earnings. But in
America�s free market, there should be no limits to success. We work hard
so that we can enjoy the fruits of our labors � and the government takes
enough of that away from us already.
CNN Says America Is in Trouble, and It�s All Government�s Fault
�Lou Dobbs Tonight� declared a grim conclusion in a recent broadcast,
blaming policy makers for the death of the American dream. The report
lacked specifics, used questionable statistics and conveniently ignored
the robust growth of the U.S. economy.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly tracks the best and worst media coverage of
business and economics. Readers are invited to submit suggestions or news
tips to Director
Dan Gainor.
This week: Your teacher today is�; the trouble with Lou Dobbs; and
the way to save people from malaria.
Also from FMP:
A Quarter Billion Dollars for Malaria, but No Time for Prevention
�60 Minutes� Bypasses Obvious Health Care Solution
Media in a Frenzy over Oil Profits
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Research, News & Commentary
Energy
Commentary: As oil becomes more expensive, oil sands and oil shale
could become the next viable energy source.
Commentary: They never learn� commentary from Investor�s Business
Daily on the failures of government meddling in energy markets.
Health Care
Commentary: James Glassman explains why free-riding Europeans are
making health care more expensive for U.S. citizens.
Research: For Medicaid to be successful, the entire program needs
to be restructured: from cost cutting to new eligibility requirements.
Welfare reform could be a good model.
Research: State regulations can make health insurance far too
costly for consumers.
Government Spending/Taxes:
Commentary: Just like household budgeting during times of tragedy,
government has to watch the checkbook and make some difficult choices.
Research: The American Enterprise Institute publishes polling data
about attitudes toward taxes, government spending, and the ever-loathed
IRS.
Free Market
Commentary: Michael Cannon plays �myth debunker� regarding a piece
by Jonathon Cohn in The New Republic. Is there a tradeoff between �choice�
and �security,� or is it possible to have both?
Commentary: School vouchers can put some 370,000
hurricane-displaced children back in school quickly and efficiently. Plus,
this process could help heal the wounds of thousands of families who have
lost everything to the violent storms.
Upcoming Events
Tell us
about events coming up in your area!
Monetary Institutions and Economic Development
Sponsored by the Cato Institute and The Economist
Cato Institute
Nov. 3, 8:00 a.m. � 6:30 p.m.
Demystifying Hedge Funds II: Are They Different From Other Money
Management Firms?
American Enterprise Institute
Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m.
Do New Businesses Contribute to Economic Growth?
Hudson Institute
Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m.
An
Afternoon with Michael Crichton
Lisner Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
Nov. 6, 2:30 p.m.
Regulatory Oversight at 25
American Enterprise Institute
Nov. 7, 8:30 a.m.
Education Entrepreneurship: Why it Matters, What Risks it Poses, and How
to Make the Most of It
American Enterprise Institute
Nov. 14, 8:45 a.m.
�States of Fear: Science or Politics?� with Michael Crichton
Hotel Nikko, San Francisco
Nov. 15, 8:00 p.m.
�TELL
THE TRUTH!�
Join Us in Telling 50 Million Americans Every Week About Liberal Media
Bias!
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New MRC Blog Launches!
The MRC's blog site,
NewsBusters,
"Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias," has launched. With your
participation we trust
NewsBusters
will soon become THE blog site for tracking and correcting
liberal media bias. Come post your comments and get fresh proof
of media misdeeds at:
http://www.newsbusters.org
Or, visit Media Research Center at: www.mediaresearch.org |
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