Bloomberg News has an article headlined "Top Earners Lose Cost of BMW if Bush Tax Cuts Expire." It begins, "Wealthy Americans have the price of a BMW convertible riding on the outcome of the Congressional battle over tax cuts set to expire this year."
This is an astonishing flip-flop from the August 12, 2010 article from Bloomberg News Journo-list member Ryan Donmoyer, who wrote, under the headline, "Most High Earners Wouldn't See Big Bill From Tax Rise," an article that said, "Under the Democrats' plan to end a tax break for those earning more than $200,000 per individual or $250,000 per couple, the 3.8 million filers who fall in the $200,000 to $500,000 income range would pay $2 billion more in 2011 taxes, or an average of $532, according to a July 30 letter from the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation."
It's hard to find even a used BMW convertible for $532.
It is interesting, too, that Bloomberg is using BMW convertibles as its units for approximately $50,000. Nothing against BMW convertibles, but they convey an image of luxury, or perhaps conspicuous consumption, a splurge. Imagine if the story or headline said, instead, "Top Earners Lose Cost of Home Health Aide for Ailing Elderly Parent if Bush Tax Cuts Expire." Or "Top Earners Lose Cost of Two-Thirds of Year's College Tuition for Child If Bush Tax Cuts Expire." It's these kinds of choices made by journalists and editors that can help shape how the public perceives an issue.
