The Deseret News Drives Me Crazy

The Deseret News drives me crazy. I live in Utah, I’m LDS, and I lean to the right politically. You would expect the Utah based, LDS-owned newspaper to be a perfect match for me, but it’s not. Most mornings when reading the paper, I feel like the news has been edited through the strangest, left-leaning, out-of-focus lens. It is maddening.

In today’s May 9, 2014 paper, a front page headline reads, “Immigration: U.S. warns schools against bias.” In this article, the Obama administration, which is definitely not the same as the U.S., is reminding schools they must accept immigrants without asking for documents or for information about their citizenship status. The headline should read, “Obama Administration Reinforces Bias Against Non-Immigrants.”

On page A3 the headline reads, “S.L ranked high for upward mobility—but is that still true?” Even though the research was released less than a year ago, the paper and The Atlantic are asking if the research conclusions are true. Cited as problems are Salt Lake City’s low per-student funding for schools, the income gap between the richest and the poorest, the struggles of the Millennials, and the volatile housing market. I would suggest Utah’s per-student funding hasn’t changed much in the last year, and that the other three problems are getting worse because governments are interfering more and more in our so called free market system. It seems as if the newspaper is advocating for more government spending and more government interference. The headline should have read, “Big government advocates don’t like recent study.”

I could go on and on about today’s edition, but I’ll mention just one more story. On A15, which is part of the Editorial section, Mary Barker, a SLC political science teacher, tells us a parable about Adam and Ben to honor those who tried to raise the minimum wage last week. In her story Adam and Ben work in the same coal mine. By the end of the story, Ben’s grandson ends up being the lazy, rich, absentee owner of the mine with no regard for anyone but himself. Adam’s hard-working grandson ends up out of work, poor, and powerless against Ben’s spoiled, powerful grandson. She explains that the abuse of power is responsible for our low minimum wage, excess CEO pay, and income inequality. I have no idea why this way far-left political commentary is in my newspaper.

I’ll say it again.  The Deseret News drives me crazy.