My letter to the NY Times re: stop portraying editorializing as reporting

From: patrickbarron@msn.com
To: letters@nytimes.com
Subject: Stop portraying editorializing as reporting
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:56:19 -0400

Re: French Duo See (Well) Past Tax Rise for Richest

Dear Sirs:
I advise your readers to subsitute the word "earn" for "take" in reading your article about two French economists who, for some unknown reason, want to meddle in American tax policy. (Don't the French have enough problems of their own to keep these two busy?) Read this sentence, for example, subsituting "earned" for your reporter's word "taken":

"...their work shows that the top earners in the United States have taken a bigger and bigger share of overall income..."

Why doesn't your reporter continue to use the word "earn"? I believe I know the reason--there is no social agenda in reporting that people "earn" more and decide to keep what they "earn"; whereas, there is plenty of social warfare in reporting that people who earn more decide to "take" more. "Take" from whom? Didn't they earn it? If so, they are merely keeping what they earn, are they not?

Your reporter continues her social agenda in this sentence:

"But both also express bewilderment over the current conversation about whether the wealthy, who have taken most of America's income gains over the last 30 years, should be paying higher taxes."

So, the wealthy have "taken", have they? Again, "taken" from whom? Where are the police? Are they not supposed to stop these wealthy from going down to the poor part of town and robbing people? Oh, that's not exactly what your reporter or these two French class warriors mean, huh? Well, then stop presenting editorializing as news.

Patrick Barron