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Anyone who deals in data professionally is sharply aware that any single figure measure is misleading on it's own. And if they live in the US they will more tha

by olefoo 12y ago

Anyone who deals in data professionally is sharply aware that any single figure measure is misleading on it's own. And if they live in the US they will more than likely be aware of the broad swath of government statistics that are made available ( for free ) to the public. As such it's quite easy to develop a contemptuous attitude towards lay people who aren't aware of things that are so foundational to people who work in the field. That the "lie of the official unemployment statistics" keeps on getting rediscovered is a testament to the general lack of numeracy in the population at large; and to the construction of political reality by the media and the political class. And in a political sense, the unemployment statistics are a lie; since we are supposed to be reassured that the situation is fine when in fact it's not. If the vast majority of people in their prime earning years ( 35-55 ) are drastically un- or under- employed what does that mean a decade out? Are we going to have millions of 60 year olds who haven't held a straight job in a decade? What's going to happen to them? Are they all going to survive by panhandling in the parking lot at Walmart? What?

joe_the_user 12y ago
Indeed, In the former USSR and other totalitarian states, the government put out a false, rosy picture of the economy which was generally held in contempt. In the US, the government puts out a "true after these many caveats" picture that most people are fairly doubtful of. It seems like the present order is simply developing more defensible propaganda.
- drabiega 12y ago
  The government puts out a range of statistical measures and the media promptly ignores 95% of the data. In what way is that propaganda?
  - deong 12y ago
    To be fair, it's not as though the government treats the wealth of data as equally important and the media just fixates on one measure. The government wants to tout that low unemployment rate as well, and they make sure to do so whenever it fits their purposes. Still a far cry from saying they're lying to us, but they're not exactly innocent victims either.

by olefoo 12y ago

joe_the_user 12y ago

Indeed, In the former USSR and other totalitarian states, the government put out a false, rosy picture of the economy which was generally held in contempt. In the US, the government puts out a "true after these many caveats" picture that most people are fairly doubtful of. It seems like the present order is simply developing more defensible propaganda.

drabiega 12y ago
The government puts out a range of statistical measures and the media promptly ignores 95% of the data. In what way is that propaganda?
- deong 12y ago
  To be fair, it's not as though the government treats the wealth of data as equally important and the media just fixates on one measure. The government wants to tout that low unemployment rate as well, and they make sure to do so whenever it fits their purposes. Still a far cry from saying they're lying to us, but they're not exactly innocent victims either.