October 19, 2012
This little factoid would have been worth including in a front page Washington Post news article reporting business executives’ expressed concerns about the end of the year budget situation. The article tells readers that the executives warned of dire consequences, including another debt downgrade and higher interest rates on government bonds, if the budget situation is not resolved quickly. An early resolution is more likely to leave the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy in place, since it would be easier politically to extend them before the end of the year than to reinstate them after they expire on January 1.
Since these executives have a large personal stake in how the tax battles are resolved it would have been appropriate to remind readers of that fact. It is possible that this could influence what they say on the topic. The Post would usually make a point of noting much smaller and more indirect conflicts of interest.
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