Dear John: TV ‘press’ financial folly

Dear John: A person does not have to be a rocket scientist to know that politicians have given false and misleading unemployment rates in America for decades.

[Yet] the media do not ask more questions about this false reporting, other than an occasional mention about those no longer seeking [work] due to lack of jobs. There must be a way to force the media to do actual and factual reporting of economic data.

The business channels seem to me more intent on touting of stocks than on old-time business reporting of news.

How can the little guy make the media report the facts? B.P.

Dear B.P.: TV stations respond to ratings. If people stop watching cable business reports they don’t trust, then — eventually — something will change.

The problem with TV is this: These stations have a load of time to fill. And they couldn’t possibly fill 18 hours a day of programming without calling upon Wall Street “experts” to give their opinion.

And, for the most part, these “experts” are shills for the financial community. Why wouldn’t you expect that? The “experts” on TV make their money trading stocks and convincing people of their knowledge.

They don’t make even a fraction of their money from going on television.

So they “talk their book,” as they say in the industry. And the cable stations try to give some semblance of honesty by disclosing that these people have positions in certain stocks.

Big deal — a footnote at the bottom of the screen trying to offset the biased opinions coming out of their mouths.

I remember a big shot on Wall Street with whom I used to talk every day when I was writing for the New York Times. I thought this guy was smart and honest.

And he probably was smart, because he had me believing he was honest.

Then one day he said something that even I, in my younger years, thought made absolutely no sense.

“What?!” I said.

The source said to me, “Look, John. I work for a major Wall Street firm. What do you expect me to say?”

I never spoke to that guy again, but I saw him on CNBC the other day.

Without these shills, these stations couldn’t exist.

Now, the other question: Why don’t the media look more closely at financial data?

I have no idea why they don’t, except for the fact that some journalists are lazy and ill-equipped to ask the tough questions. It’s simply easier to say that the Commerce Department reported this or that, rather than look into whether “this or that” makes any sense.

I remember a few years back when a springtime consumer inflation report made absolutely no sense to me. So I called the phone number of the contact guy on the press release.

I said, “Your report makes no sense. Gasoline prices are much higher than you seem to think they are.”

The guy said, “That’s because our report is wrong.”

He went on to explain how the seasonal adjustments were off and that the mistake would correct itself in the months to come.

Now, that was some brilliant reporting on my part, don’t you think?

Of course not! I just called the damned number and asked the question.

Dear John: I read your articles and chuckle.

Are things so bad? Auto sales going through the roof, retail sales up, stock market going crazy, home sales up, cruise boats packed, gambling casinos busy.

[Meanwhile], I have to go into poverty to support grifters; [pay for their] free cell phones so they can babble like idiots; provide them with food stamps, Medicaid, welfare, free rent, free school, free hospital.

Now, I ask, is this sustainable? Sure it is, because the “system” will keep it so.

Debt? Who cares? They will write it off, or go back to the gold or silver standard.

If they want inflation they will create it; deflation, create it. M.P.

Dear M.P.: You are an idiot.

Have a nice day.