Hey Maria, you need to be 65 to receive Medicare! In the rapidly devolving cable news world, staged debate and provocation replace reporting and information. Armed with prepared questions, talking points and a cursory understanding of the topic, news personalities referee debates. These “talk” programs are much less expensive to produce than traditional news programs that rely on large teams of reporters, mobile camera trucks, researchers, etc. The ratings are better and it’s a trend that is unlikely to change. Unfortunately, these news personalities increasingly editorialize about subjects they do not completely understand. CNBC Anchor Maria Bartiromo provides the latest example as Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) attempts to explain that Medicare is government managed health care and patients are very satisfied:
Bartiromo: How come you don’t use it? You don’t have it. How come you don’t have it?
Weiner: Because I’m not 65.
Bartiromo: Yeah… c’mon!
As we’ve noted in other posts, CNBC and Larry Kudlow don’t have a sterling record of providing reliable or objective economic assessments either.
- SF
Erin Burnett is far more knowledgeable and competent than the Money Honey. Bartiromo should stick to market reporting rather than politics. Even on that subject, she has always been a lightweight.