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MSM Propaganda in action

daveto

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http://opinion.financialpost.com/2010/07/21/homeowners-more-financially-fit/

Consider the above linked opinion piece from the Financial Post.

It references the following press release
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2010/20/c5274.html

which describes the results of a study by Genworth Financial (a mortgage insurer - hardly an independent source)

The conclusion of the study is that homeowners are financial better off than non-homeowners. To which I respond, of course and so what??

The question should not be, "are homeowners better off than non-homeowners"...the question is "are homeowners better off than non-homeowners with equal incomes" or "are homeowners better off BECAUSE they are homeowners"

A classic example of an abuse of statistics to mislead the reader, and then disguising the conclusions of a biased source as objective "news" in the MSM.
 
what i love is the last part ... selective wording, etc:

The survey also found:

49% of homeowners made down payments of 20% or more on their purchase
13% of homeowners say they are in great financial shape


put in another way ....

51% of homeowners made down payments of LESS THAN 20% on their purchase;
87% of homeowners say they are NOT in great financial shape


the survey should have been more thorough and broken it down to when the homeowner purchased and what % DP b/c the results are pretty much useless if the majority of the 49% had bought over 10 years ago.
 
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What's really strange is that "doom and gloom" type articles usually sell better/attract more readers. Is it different when it comes to real estate? Are we that deep in denial?
 
You tend not to find doom and gloom articles if it undermines specific advertisers. Real Estate is one of the single most lucrative sources of advertising revenues for print media (take a look at your typical weekend real estate sections)
 

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