danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

More than almost anything else, I hate phony outrage.  That is, I cannot abide the loud shouting by those whose indignation is not sincere.  You see it constantly these days.  Politicians and the public on one side will pretend to be enraged by the behavior or policies of some other politician or group, when, in fact, those “outraged” people know that they have committed the same misdeeds, or supported policies no better than the ones about which they now pretend to be angry.  Rush Limbaugh derided illegal drug users for years while hiding his own drug problem. Republicans, who praised President Bush for ignoring the polls and going ahead with the troop surge in Iraq, today criticize Democrats for ignoring the polls on healthcare reform.

Phony outrage bothers me because it is simultaneously false and hypocritical.  And it gets attention.  A man holding a sign and shouting is bound to have a television camera pointed at him, no matter how ridiculous his claims.

It would be easy to dismiss those in the “Tea Party” movement as simple phonies.  After all, members of that group, which burns President Obama in effigy, only a few years ago claimed that any criticism of the president was “unpatriotic”, and that those who opposed George W. Bush’s policies were “with the terrorists”.  That is phony outrage, pure and simple.

But the Tea Party movement presents another, equally troublesome phenomenon: ignorant outrage.  As Bruce Bartlett, the outspoken Republican and former Reagan adviser, writes at Forbes.com, most Tea Party people completely misunderstand the issues about which they are so angry.  Members of the Tea Party movement were surveyed about taxes under President Obama, and, “no matter how one slices the data, the Tea Party crowd appears to believe that federal taxes are very considerably higher than they actually are”.  When asked, for instance, whether, under Obama, taxes are higher, lower, or the same, two-thirds thought taxes were higher.  In fact, as Bartlett points out, “federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president”.

Meanwhile,

Tea Partyers were asked how much the federal government gets in taxes as a percentage of the gross domestic product. According to Congressional Budget Office data, acceptable answers would be 6.4%, which is the percentage for federal income taxes; 12.7%, which would be for both income taxes and Social Security payroll taxes; or 14.8%, which would represent all federal taxes as a share of GDP in 2009.

Tuesday’s Tea Party crowd, however, thought that federal taxes were almost three times as high as they actually are. The average response was 42% of GDP and the median 40%. The highest figure recorded in all of American history was half those figures: 20.9% at the peak of World War II in 1944.

As Bartlett points out, “it’s hard to explain this divergence between perception and reality”.  I’m not so sure.  How often do talk radio hosts criticize Democrats for raising taxes?  A lot, from what I can tell.  And yet, “there hasn’t been a federal tax increase of any significance in this country since 1993″.  Nevertheless, politicians and pundits drone on and on about how high taxes are burdening families, and driving down the economy.  Those politicians and pundits know better (or ought to).  Their outrage is phony.  But the public–which by and large, doesn’t read the newspaper, or know the first thing about economics, history, geography, or almost any other subject–hears the talking heads and believes.  Thus, phony outrage becomes ignorant outrage.

Don’t get me wrong.  I wholeheartedly support righteous indignation.  That is, if you really believe something, state your position honestly, and advocate for your cause, I will, at least, respect your efforts.  However, as the saying goes, everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.  Be honest; be consistent.  That goes for both sides.

Filed under: Current Events, Politics on March 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »