On Tue, 22 May 2012 14:03:22 +1000, Trevor wrote:

[snip]

"Determined" by who? And what proof did they use to arrive at that
conclusion?

Economists, financiers, financial analysts, think tanks, even
government investigators, etc. Certainly, not your average man on the
street opinions. As far as "proof," as in any financial/business
investigation, they started with the numbers, and followed the money.

And they also start with an agenda, and select the data to suit.

If we're talking politicians and their respective parties, I agree.
That's why I take what they purport with a grain of salt.

What I do is take what is reported--facts, conclusions, opinions, etc.--
from many sources to arrive at a fairly unbiased, middle of the road
overview, then draw my own conclusions.


Don't believe everything you read in the right wing press! :-)

The "press" here--TV, radio and print--is, by and large, very much left
leaning.


You haven't heard of FOX and our expat Rupert Murdoch then :-)

Of course I have. I didn't say ALL the press are left leaning--some more
than others, just the majority. There are still plenty of sources for
news that hold balanced, neutral reporting in high esteem.

Stef