Bogus Memes: $400 Emergency Version

[LDAHL]

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/cato-liberty/2019/reynolds-40-americans-400-emergency-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"?

[Alan]

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 (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/17/fact-checkers_give_stacey_abrams_a_pass_on_victory_clai m_140358.html) , 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.

[sweetana3]

It is all ratings not news. Our outlets just copy what the police and fire give them. Zero reporting since taken over by USAToday.

[Teacher Terry]

Very disgusted with the news.

[catherine]

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.

[ApatheticNoMore]

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.

[Teacher Terry]

When I originally saw that headline I assumed it meant 40% couldn’t pay cash.

[mamalatte]

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/business/economy/fed-400-dollar-survey.html

[LDAHL]

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/business/economy/fed-400-dollar-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.