Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Bogus Memes: $400 Emergency Version

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    8,306

    Bogus Memes: $400 Emergency Version

    For some months now, I've been hearing numerous people portentously quote a study to claim 40% of Americans couldn't come up with the cash for a $400 emergency. The actual question was what method you would use, not whether you could. https://austrian.economicblogs.org/c...gency-expense/

    Looking at the responses seems to me to illustrate a much less dire situation. Where are the legions of fact-checkers in all this? Is the scarier version simply more congenial to the narrative many political and media people are eager to sell? Can a bogus meme "travel halfway round the world before the truth can get it's pants on"?

  2. #2
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Call me cynical but I've come to believe that virtually all news outlets slant everything to support a narrative and fact checkers only exist to discredit anyone questioning the variance between what is seen and what is reported.

    Stacy Abrams has been telling anyone who'll listen (and everyone does) that she won the Gubernatorial election in Georgia and, according to Mark Hemmingway , not a single fact checker will call her on the claim.

    One of MSNBC's economics prognosticators, Ali Velchi, becomes giddy each day the DOW Jones Industrial Averages lose ground as he can then spend up to two hours each weekday finding ways to blame it on the Trump administration. That's just an example, there's no end of "journalists" slanting their coverage to fit the narrative.

    I see this week that The Guardian has changed their description of Climate Change to Climate Emergency in an effort to scare as many people as possible. Other outlets took note and are even now changing their ledes to support the new narrative without bothering to back it up with facts.

    We're also seeing polling this week reflecting that each of the current top 5 Democratic and Socialist candidates for President could beat Trump in the general if it were held today, seemingly forgetting that they said the same thing about Hillary just a few years ago.

    It hasn't been that long ago when I believed all news accounts were rooted in truth, I'm sorry to say that today I'm not at all sure that's true.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    3,737
    It is all ratings not news. Our outlets just copy what the police and fire give them. Zero reporting since taken over by USAToday.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    Very disgusted with the news.

  5. #5
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    14,637
    Each of the networks are one-trick ponies. The print media has its biases, too. But even worse are the memes on social media that are almost always wrong or inaccurate or simplistic or hostile. Since a lot of people don't even watch or read the news, this is how the populace is educating themselves on complex issues. Every day I see a meme that has been disproven by Snopes or some other fact-checking site, or it's completely outdated. I saw one shared about "Today is the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and Nobody is Even Talking About it." Not even close. Another one today, "If war broke out in Amreica (sic), would u fight? Post 'yes'". Boy, I was dying to type a snarky comment, but I didn't.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    9,656
    I don't know where the 40% came from but it seem seems nearly 40%, that are desperate even by that poll.

    18% put it on my credit card and pay it off over time (this indicates desperation, otherwise why pay that exorbitant interest)
    12% I wouldn't be able to
    2% use a payday loan (but how desperate do you have to be to pay that interest?)
    4% use money from a bank loan or line of credit - also seems to carry interest but not 100% sure of this one as I'm not familiar with it

    And then there is the 11% of borrowing from friends or family, which also seems desperate but depends on too many details to know really, maybe you pay them off next paycheck and it's no big deal, maybe they don't get paid for a year, hard to tell what this one indicates.

    Using credit of the type that has interest (so I don't mean paying a credit card off next month) does not indicate being in a decent place financially

    ---

    I would say some like bad news because it's nice to know they aren't the only one suffering, that the fates don't have it in for them in particular, that it's just the nature of the beast. I love me some Great Depression tales etc.. But these figures actually aren't very good.
    Trees don't grow on money

  7. #7
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    When I originally saw that headline I assumed it meant 40% couldn’t pay cash.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    197
    This is in the news again today:

    Four in 10 American adults wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash, savings or a credit-card charge that could be quickly paid off, a new Federal Reserve survey finds.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/b...ar-survey.html

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    8,306
    Quote Originally Posted by mamalatte View Post
    This is in the news again today:

    Four in 10 American adults wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash, savings or a credit-card charge that could be quickly paid off, a new Federal Reserve survey finds.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/b...ar-survey.html
    The headline says couldn’t and the article refers to the method people say they would choose. The trend also seems to be positive if you find the 39% figure alarming. But which slant do you think is slipping into the public consciousness? I think the NYT would have chosen a different headline under the previous president.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •