Lies, damn lies, and statistics

To the surprise of no one, it turns out that Trump and his enablers have been lying about the nation's employment and about how beneficial the deportation of nearly 600,000 workers has been for native born Americans. 

I won't even try to get into the math of it all, but I was reminded today after reading a Washington Post article on how employment figures are actually a bit less rosy for native born workers than in the Biden era that we are in perilous times as we have a government that is both unable to understand the math and quite willing to lie about the numbers even if officials do understand.

And the press has never boasted of many skilled math majors who can find a way to clearly communicate the statistics and their meaning. The more I read in the Post article this morning, the less I understood. I did begin to think it might help if the reporters would simply "show their work." 

As it is, Trump and toadies trumpet great news while economists of all stripes point out that the government is misinterpreting the numbers. 

And we are all left just a bit more confused.

But there is much less confusion among even the most detached Americans if they find themselves not doing as well as they hoped financially. If it gets harder to change jobs when health insurance premiums are skyrocketing and companies increasingly look to robots (or AI) to handle many jobs. 

Trump has not been back in office for even a year, but his reign seems endless. The idea of three more years of the chaos and sheer meanness is unimaginable. Yet it is happening. 

Even American voters, famous for their ignorance and apathy, eventually look around and see how their lives are going... and if it's not great, they will vote for a change. 

It may begin with the midterm elections next fall, but I am having a tough time imagining a return to anything resembling the way politics and simple analyses and conversations once were conducted. 

Few nations are as skeptical about AI as Americans, another article noted. And Americans are overwhelmingly negative about social media, despite social media dominating our national discourse. Turns out that in nations that see social media as a net positive in their lives, those same people see AI as more promising.

Americans as a large population are currently feeling less hopeful about the future than in many years... many ever. The overall stats indicate that we've never had it so good but still there is a nagging feeling that things are not as they should be. 

One hope I am continuing to build upon is that perhaps we have reached the nadir, the lowest point, we can reach psychically. Perhaps we had to bottom out, so to speak, before a sufficient majority of people seriously consider change. 

I know almost nothing about New York's new mayor, but perhaps his combination of cosmopolitan background and willingness to speak directly about problems, all wrapped in a smiling demeanor and some social media skill, provides a hint at the future of politics. 

I welcome a new direction. Our current direction is not working.