Big Lies in Politics (Thomas Sowell)

Creators Syndicate ^ | July 31, 2012 | Thomas Sowell

[jazusamo]

It was either Adolf Hitler or his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, who said that the people will believe any lie, if it is big enough and told often enough, loud enough. Although the Nazis were defeated in World War II, this part of their philosophy survives triumphantly to this day among politicians, and nowhere more so than during election years.

Perhaps the biggest lie of this election year, and the one likely to be repeated the most often, is that the income of "the rich" is going up, while other people's incomes are going down. If you listen to Barack Obama, you are bound to hear this lie repeatedly.

But the government's own Congressional Budget Office has just published a report whose statistics flatly contradict this claim. The CBO report shows that, while the average household income fell 12 percent between 2007 and 2009, the average for the lower four-fifths fell by 5 percent or less, while the average income for households in the top fifth fell 18 percent. For households in the "top one percent" that seems to fascinate so many people, income fell by 36 percent in those same years.

Why are these data so different from other data that are widely cited, showing the top brackets improving their positions more so than anyone else?

The answer is that the data cited by the Congressional Budget Office are based on Internal Revenue Service statistics for specific individuals and specific households over time. The IRS can follow individuals and households because it can identify the same people over time from their Social Security numbers.

[jazusamo]

advice for "Obama." Tom's advice?: "Resign."

I saw that also. It was beautiful, he didn't even hesitate with the answer.

[jazusamo]

at least he would have earned it.

[TheOldLady]

Thank you for the post and ping.

“Resign.” If only.

[jazusamo]

“Resign.” If only.

Amen, TOL! And you're most welcome.