Glenn Beck - Thick as S***

Glenn Beck's latest column on CNN defies logic. The conservative pundit rails against cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Newark and other poverty stricken cities for electing Democrats for mayors, implying that had they elected Republicans occasionally (many cities have elected Dem. mayors for half a century) they would not be so poverty stricken.

Cue the head shaking.

Had he bothered to give any meaningful insight, he would have mentioned found that cities really only have control over property tax revenue. So what would his solution be? To cut those taxes? Housing demand is relatively price inelastic (sure it varies from city to city) but a tax cut given inelastic demand would equate to lower tax revenue. This would mean less cash to spend on education and public transport, which can help alleviate poverty.

Beck neglects to mention that since 1968, America has elected a Republican president for all but 12 years (Carter, Clinton) and that Clinton himself was fairly right wing. But surely those who actually control important macroeconomic policy (fed. income tax, minimum wage & labor laws and trade issues) should not be held responsible for the poverty that has stricken once productive industrial cities. Instead Beck blames the victims - that somehow these cities are more poverty stricken than others because the inhabitants of these cities dont take personal responsibility (just like all those CEOs who receive massive bonuses after leaving companies they've run into the ground)

Furthermore, Beck suggests that Ben Franklin was opposed to minimum wage laws and a welfare state (those ideas barely existed in a pre-industrial society, though they did to be fair, i.e. Elizabethan Poor Laws) without actually citing Franklin on the subject.

Basically my point is Beck's stupidity is absolutely astonishing. He can blame the Democratic mayors all he wants, but at the end of the day the major economic policy makers are either in Washington or state governments.

Then again maybe he's right about the Democrats. Maybe those cities should've elected socialist mayors.

You can read the article for yourself here, but I highly recommend that you don't.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/20/beck.cities/index.html


Stay tuned for some comprehensive posts on the global food economy.