Blog Post 2: All the Media Money Can Buy

http://www.thenation.com/article/168037/all-media-money-can-buy#

Eric Alterman's article "All the Media Money Can Buy" published May 23, 2012 in The Nation is a great selection that boldly explains an ongoing issue on the influence of the wealthy on the decisions of our politicians. Most of the media's attention is spent on everything but the true issues and the real ramifications of the influences of the elite wealthy.  Alterman explains the ongoing influence of the lobbyists on politics by use of the almighty dollar. Telling how for decades the media has chosen to, "look the other way" while the wealthy influence congress to change the ways of "our nation's social and economic order." This article pretty much sums up the saying of "the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer."

Exaggeration: Alterman's exaggeration in the article comes by the words he chooses. "..., while the party in the penthouse grows more and more decadent, the ladder upstairs is being pulled out for the folks who might like a hand up." Also, by stating, "For decades, with virtually nobody in the mainstream media even noticing...". There is also no mention of the local benefit of filming The Avengers in New Mexico. What was the effect on the local economy,  transportation, housing, meals, extra actors, credit in the movie, and the like. Yes, the tax benefit seems unfair but what was the real trade-off? Additionally, by referring to a fellow journalist as a, "telegenic lunatic" could be viewed as an exaggeration when maybe her point to her article was to be what she wanted it to be.

Irony: Alterman's irony is evident in the paragraph on the FASB's attempt to "curtail the practice of allowing corporate CEO's to compensate themselves with massive stock-option packages..." stating that it would lead to "deceptive accounting practices." The Irony of this comes when the FASB was stopped by the efforts of the lobbyist who by representing major corporations persuaded Congress to do so. There is finally a group willing to step up and change what is wrong and the power group that has the ability to enforce the change gets, "bought out" to prevent the reform from happening.

Logic: Throughout the article Alterman gives appeals to logic by providing proven data and cites legitimate studies. A specific example would be on the income of the top 1 percent increasing 256 percent in 27 years, when the lowest section had an income raise of around 11 percent. This is integrated into his article to further exemplify how the rich will continue to gain wealth over the poor.

Sarcasm: Eric's sarcastic strategy is evident as he talks about the "telegenic lunatic Monica Crowley." On how she gets swindled into the schemes of the wealthy CEO's and their guidance into publishing such "obvious nonsense." Even an educated journalist is not enough to report the real truth of what is actually going on.

Tone: Eric Alterman's tone within his article is straight forward and to the point. He is not trying to fed the readers false information to ease our worries, but rather be blunt about the current situation down at the White House. Alterman's choice to use a recent and highly publicized event, Facebook going public, makes his point relevant and real.  The issue with Facebook comes when, as expected, its 187 million stock options are cashed in. This event entitles Facebook to receive $7.5 billion in tax deductions which through a process somehow ends with a potential refund of $500 million.

I selected this article on an issue of politics that has continued to amaze me, at least on how our political system is set up. It is complex and the decisions made are not always for the benefit of the general population no matter how much it is declared from politicians. This passage is yelling for a wake-up call. I was taught that it was supposed to be "by the people for the people;" not "buy the people for the benefit of the top 1 percent of our nation."