The Associated Press called out Republican presidential candidates who engage in populist campaign talk but present tax proposals that would “overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest” -- a trap media often fall into in their reporting on economic policy.

On September 8, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush debuted his tax plan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, attacking what he called an “anemic economy” under the Obama administration and claiming that the only way to guarantee “accelerating [economic] growth” is a complete overhaul of the U.S. tax code." Bush's so-called “overhaul” includes reducing the top marginal income tax rate to 28 percent, reducing corporate tax rates to just 20 percent, and eliminating what he called “lobbyist-created loopholes” in the tax code that advantage high-income filers. Following the release of Bush's plan, media jumped to paint the proposal as a “populist” approach to taxes, despite experts noting that it will mostly privilege the rich.

In a September 14 article, the Associated Press highlighted the problem with labeling GOP candidates' proposals as “populist,” explaining that in reality, the plans presented by Jeb Bush, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) all “overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest.” Focusing on Bush's proposed tax plan, the article noted that even conservative organizations such as the Tax Foundation concluded that “his plan would initially help the top 1 percent of earners 10 times as much as it would those in the bottom 10 percent” :