It takes a hefty amount of chutzpah for the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news shows to continue covering up bad news that repeatedly makes Bidenomics look like the disaster it’s been for the U.S. economy.
The Hill reported Sept. 12 that the poverty rate rose 4.6 percentage points in 2022, based on data released by the U.S. Census Bureau the same day. This was the measure’s “first increase since 2010.” Specifically, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for government programs (e.g. food stamps, tax refunds) in addition to income and benefits, spiked to 12.4 percent in 2022 in the midst of America's battle with a worsening inflation crisis. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Census Bureau also noted that “[t]he SPM child poverty rate more than doubled, from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.” The SPM rates for people between 18 and 64 years old and for people 65 years and older also spiked, the Census Bureau said. [Emphasis added.]
But none of that damning information was news for ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News during their Sept. 12 broadcasts. All three networks ignored the major story like it didn’t exist.
ABC and CBS in particular chose to spend their coverage lashing out at House Republicans for daring to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden’s alleged bribery scandal involving his embattled son’s shady foreign business dealings. Apparently, that was more important for the networks than informing Americans about the atrocious economic situation.
The bad economic news detailed by the Census Bureau also proved to be one of two punches the Biden administration would suffer within two consecutive days. On Sept. 13, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation spiked hotter than expected at 3.7 percent year-over-year, against expectations of a 3.6 increase by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. This was also up from the 3.2 percent inflation increase in July. The month-over-month increase in August was 0.6 percent, which was “the biggest increase since June 2022,” according to Investing.com Global Markets Analyst Jesse Cohen.
Will the Big Three evening news shows treat the inflation spike news with the same kind of dismissive behavior as they did with the rising poverty rate? Only time will tell.
NewsBusters News Analyst Kevin Tober contributed to this report.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact ABC News at 818-460-7477, CBS News at 212-975-3247 and NBC News at 212-664-6192 and hold them to account for ignoring the news about the poverty rate spiking for the first time since 2010.
