DM Register Bloggers Should Stick with What They Know

When Register columnist Ken Fuson wrote in 2005, “Perhaps you have not heard of blogs. The name derives from a combination of ‘blather’ and ‘logorrhea’,” he probably did not expect his fair paper to have dozens of bloggers spewing their thoughts through the series of tubes we have constructed while sitting in our underwear watching The Price is Right (via the dearly departed). Still, that’s what has happened: the Register seems willing to give almost anyone a blog, and the results of their newfound affinity for the democratization of journalism have been mixed. Other newspapers have good blogs with strong audience participation and a sense of consistency and professionalism guiding bloggers’ work. Not so for the Register.

Maybe to them, “blog” really means “you can write whatever you want about topics you don’t understand.” If Ken Fuson’s opinion represents the Register’s mentality, this kind of post from Nikki Schuchart, a member of the Register’s “Young Adult Board of Contributors,” shouldn’t surprise us. Still, it is striking that our statewide paper of record would allow a layperson to make so many unqualified, incorrect assertions about a subject she would admit to knowing little about.

Schuchart is not a political journalist. She admits that she doesn’t always vote in elections. Why is she analyzing the results of Tuesday’s vote on “Project Destiny,” the local option sales tax plan to raise funds for “quality of life” improvements in the Des Moines metro area?

There are several points at which it becomes obvious that Schuchart isn’t the kind of writer whom the Register should be publishing on the subjects of fiscal policy or elections.

After admitting that she did not vote, Schuchart explains why she would have voted yes if election day had been scheduled more conveniently for her:

So why would I have voted yes? We, the Des Moines metro area, attract more tourism than the rest of our wonderful state. I honestly think we should be taking advantage of the sales brought in by those visitors. It is my opinion (and I know without a doubt that many will disagree) that a lot of selfish folks went to the polls yesterday. Come on, people! A 7% sales tax is not unreasonable these days. Black Hawk County (where I grew up) passed their increase quite a while back and it just was not that big a deal for them. I have no statistics before me, but I would venture to guess that the median income of Polk County is higher than Black Hawk’s. Why are people here up in arms over 1%?

She characterizes those who voted “No” to the tax hike as “selfish,” perhaps implying that those who voted “Yes” had more altruistic motives. In reality, the field of political science almost universally agrees that all voters are motivated by what might simplistically be labeled “selfishness.” It’s called Rational Choice Theory; and, while I have my own qualms with the theory’s specifics (as do many others), try to refute it in front of a political scientist and you’ll be in for an earful.

In the context of Project Destiny, recall that major proponents were businesspeople in Des Moines, and one of their arguments was that a “yes” vote would improve their profit margins by making our area more attractive to businesses and potential corporate recruits. There’s nothing wrong with working to improve the business climate in our area, but let’s not paint it as altruism.

Although she admits to having “no statistics before” her, she guesses right about median incomes in Polk versus Black Hawk counties: Polk’s median for a household is around $46k, while Black Hawk’s is around $37k. But that’s a red herring for two reasons:

1. Median income is not nearly as important an indicator of the possible benefits and costs of a sales tax increase as other numbers like income distribution, rate of renting versus owning property, etc. If incomes are relatively homogeneous, then a sales tax is more fair. If more citizens own property rather than renting, a property tax break is more fair. Schuchart ignores these indicators.
2. Just because Black Hawk County decided on a tax increase does not mean that Polk County should. Perhaps residents of Black Hawk County feel that they have to work harder to improve services and parks to compete with other counties that already have major corporate employers, airports, cultural activities, etc. (Polk County comes to mind as a county that is already beating Black Hawk in these areas).

It’s also worth noting that the tax increase would have affected other counties that border Polk, which Schuchart fails to mention.

Finally, Schuchart laments what she believes is voter apathy: “And I am saddened that the voter turnout was so low. Maybe there were others trapped at home with no car!” On one count here, Schuchart is right: there are many people who have no car, and the vast majority of them would be unfairly affected by a regressive sales tax increase.

On the more important count (voter turnout being low), however, she could not be more wrong. As George Davey wrote a few weeks ago in the Register,

This ballot issue was dropped from the last general election. Supporters knew it would fail with high voter turnout, so they set the vote near the Fourth of July weekend. Iowa cities can increase taxes, by the will of the few, in special elections.

Direct any complaints about low turnout directly to proponents of the policy. Beyond that, though, this kind of turnout is actually pretty good for a local election in the middle of the summer. Had turnout been lower, the measure would have stood a much better chance of passing.

Still, this all goes towards the greater point that Des Moines Register bloggers should not consider themselves separate from the rest of their newspaper. This is the old mentality journalists held about blogs: they can do their thing, we can do our thing, but no one can do both. In reality, there already are bloggers in Iowa who do both, and I’d say that most of the blogosphere here gets that. It’s just the Register, which is supposed to be the hallmark of journalistic excellence in Iowa, that doesn’t understand.

In the future, let’s watch to make sure these bloggers, whose headlines are featured not just on the Register’s blog pages but also on its news article pages, exercise at least a little discretion when they decide what subjects they know enough about to cover.