Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
Fact-based, data-driven research and analysis to advance democratic debate on vital issues shaping people’s lives.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-293-5380
Fax: 202-588-1356
https://cepr.net
NPR did a classic he said/she said piece on the battle over debit card swipe fees. It gave people the line from the banks about how they will have to cut back on services to customers if fees are reduced. It also presented the line from retailers on how most of the savings will be passed on to consumers. It presented no independent analysis. (It is likely that most of the $12 billion in savings will be passed on to consumers.) This would have been useful since most listeners do not have more time to evaluate this issue than NPR’s reporters.