Coverage of Occupy Protests Showcases Media Bias

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The mainstream media says the Occupy Wall Street movement is the mirror image of the Tea Party movement. But is it really? And is the protest movement receiving the same media scrutiny garnered by Tea Party events and groups? Carolina Journal Publisher Jon Ham analyzes media coverage nationally and in North Carolina, and gives a first-hand account of what he saw at the Occupy Raleigh protest in downtown. Then we turn to North Carolina's recent high-profile "loss" to South Carolina in an economic incentives battle involving more than 1,000 new tire plant jobs. The event could lead to changes in North Carolina policy. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, says he favors a comprehensive review of the Tar Heel State's program for rewarding tax breaks, grants, and other incentives to companies promising new jobs. You'll hear his comments, along with reaction from John Locke Foundation President John Hood. Then we turn to political spin surrounding unemployment numbers. Left-leaning pundits and politicians have complained in recent months about lost government jobs, while downplaying government's impact on the private-sector economy. Carolina Journal managing editor Rick Henderson says one reason for that focus is the political Left's reliance on a discredited economic concept called the "labor theory of value." Henderson discusses the impact of that theory on today's political debate. That's followed by a look at a lawsuit over city debt. The Wake County Taxpayers Association believes Raleigh voters should have a chance to vote before city government takes on new debt. The association is going to court to force Raleigh leaders to place a city charter amendment on the ballot. The group's lawyer, former Raleigh city council member Kieran Shanahan, explains the lawsuit and the Wake taxpayers' goal of increased voter oversight of city debt. And finally, we regularly hear calls for Americans to become more energy efficient, but are the programs really about energy or are they more about controlling behavior as dictated by the powerful elite? John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato delves into who wins and who loses in the energy policy debate and explains the difference between "energy" efficiency and "economic" efficiency.