Media skews tea party, ‘Occupy’ coverage

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Updated: December 28, 2011 8:04AM

How can America solve its problems when the media — our source for information — is biased, hypocritical and short on facts and rational analysis?

Americans have observed this journalistic failure in the coverage of the Occupy Wall Street activities and the tea party rallies.

The media reaction to the tea party generally was negative, with reporters claiming racist motives without proof. Yet, the tea party clearly stated its goals — stop out-of-control government spending, soaring national debt, and dictatorial rule from Washington, D.C.

Tea party members obtained legal permits for their rallies and left public areas clean after making their point. But according to an examination of all mainstream television news reports covering the tea party, only 13 positive accounts were broadcast the first two weeks about this organic outpouring of citizen discontent. The media later wavered between blaming the tea party for gridlock and claiming the tea party was dying.

In contrast, the Occupy Wall Street protesters have polluted public parks and walkways, disobeyed laws, created health hazards and resisted police. Yet, the liberal media supported these clueless occupiers 113 times during the first two weeks.

The claim that 1 percent of the rich are running roughshod over 99 percent of our citizens cannot be supported with facts. On the contrary, the top 10 percent of taxpayers — those making more than $112,000 — paid 70 percent of the federal income taxes, according to the National Taxpayers Union.

The Wall Street Journal reported IRS statistics from 2007 showing 391,000 taxpayers with incomes exceeding $1 million (1 percent), and more than 300,000 had business income, proving they are the economy’s main job creators. These millionaires paid an average tax rate of 22.2 percent in 2007, compared to the average rate of 9 percent paid by those earning between $50,000 and $100,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Occupy Wall Street should target the powerful few in the federal government who engage in crony capitalism, ignore the Constitution and depress the economy with their socialist agenda.

Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent of Americans do not pay any income taxes, but receive many benefits — education, food stamps, public housing, medical care and unemployment insurance.

If Occupy Wall Street is concerned about inequality, it should abandon redistribution of wealth and class warfare. Their envy and hatred do more harm than good.

Real progress will take place by heeding Jesus’ admonition in the Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25, where a wealthy businessman went on a long journey, giving five talents to one servant, two talents to another and one to a third to manage while he was gone.

Upon return the master praised the one who invested the five and earned five more talents, and he thanked the second who invested his two with a bank and gained two more. They earned better jobs.

But the one who did nothing with his one talent was severely reprimanded and condemned to misery.

America will not be restored until the country’s 50 percent of nontaxpayers and Occupy Wall Street start using the talents God has given them. But they have little incentive because, as Ann Coulter says, “The vast and permanent underclass created by the welfare state is a great success story for the Democratic Party.”

Last year, President Barack Obama met with Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, who told Obama that Apple employs 700,000 factory workers in China because it can’t find the 30,000 engineers in the U.S. it needs on site at its plants.

Afterward Jobs said: “The president is very smart, but he kept explaining to us reasons why things can’t get done. It infuriates me.”

America’s job creators echo Jobs’ frustration with Obama’s leadership.

Martin Henrichs is a retired teacher who lives in Valparaiso