Stop Confusing Me With Misleading Facts
Stanley Feld M.D. FACP, MACE
The truth is derived from facts. In social sciences such as politics and economics isolated facts can lead to conclusions that are far from the truth. It is also possible to manipulate statistics that lead to false conclusions.
Misleading facts can lead to false conclusions and inaccurate opinions.
The Obama administration has mastered the art of picking isolated facts and manipulating statistics. It has used that skill and the traditional mainstream media to mold public opinion.
Government agencies are supposed to be politically neutral. The Obama administration uses isolated reported facts out of context to mold favorable public opinion using the traditional media.
This methodology has been pervasive in misinforming and transforming America. This phenomenon is especially true as it relates to the healthcare system.
Healthcare.gov’s enrollment supposedly ended for 2016 on January 31, 2016. Enrollment has been abysmal for 2016. It is no higher that the enrollment reported in 2014.
The only real increase has been the increase in Medicaid enrollment.
“As announced yesterday, the official QHP selection number ended up coming in right in the middle of this: 12.7 million nationally (9.6 million via HC.gov).”
Nevertheless, Secretary Burwell announced that enrollment surpassed expectations.
In mid-December President Obama announced as proof of the success of Obamacare;
The truth is Obamacare is a failure. State healthcare exchanges are failing. Many states have closed down their state healthcare exchanges. Yet, President Obama’s message is that his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, is succeeding.
The administration never addresses the reason Obamacare is failing. However, people who know the facts know it is failing and why it is failing. Obamacare simply does not meet the needs of the middle class consumers.
“It’s time to look at the major reasons for the shortfall.
There are many additional reasons for the poor enrollment but that is not the point of this article.
The point of this article is the Obama administration deceiving the public .
There are other areas of consumer (public) deception by the Obama administration.
One outstanding example is the administration’s conclusion that there is no inflation in America, which is hard to believe. Every time we go into a grocery store the price of food seems to increase. Every time we buy clothing, an appliance, a car or a restaurant meal the price seems to increase.
Few people know that food and fuel are not included in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is a measure used in determining the inflation rate.
The article that stimulated me to write this blog was last week’s announcement that the unemployment rate has just decreased to below 5%.
“After reaching 10 percent in 2009, the unemployment rate has now fallen to 4.9 percent even as more Americans joined the job market last month,” he told reporters at a White House briefing in Washington. “Americans are working.”
The New York Times reported that the Obama administration has used this figure to brag about how well the economy is doing under his administration.
A non-traditional media publication, PJ media, has reported, in detail, the interpretation of the real numbers using the government’s own statistics. It is worthwhile reading the entire article and forming your own opinion about the unemployment rate.
“Every so often a monthly employment report is full of so many irregularities that it pays to discount the report. This might be one of those times.
We’ve commented several times over the years about the BLS cooking the books on jobs. James Pethokoukis lists some other stats that tell far more of the real story about the employment picture than the bare-bones numbers highlighted by the media:
Not everything was great: job gains far short of 185,000 expectations (though averaging 231,000 the past three months), U-6 unemployment-underemployment rate unchanged at 9.9%, long-term unemployment worsened, labor force participation and employment rate still way below pre-recession levels, wages gains short of what you would expect to see in a full-throttle economy. Particularly vexing for Barclays was job weakness in the service sector.
The unemployment rate figure is a fact used to mold public opinion. The mainstream media is the message. The problem is the Obama administration’s message is an absolute lie.
One commenter wrote, using the government raw data;
“empiresentry 1st Boomer • 15 hours ago
Yeah that 30% was a ‘laugh’ and the Dims fell for it. Cali and some other Dim states mistakenly were unable to submit their numbers (cough cough)
.
For January 2016:
First time INITIAL jobs claims for unemployment insurance
Jan. 9, 2016 284,000
Jan. 16, 2016 294000
Jan. 23, 2016 277000
Jan. 30, 2016 285000
————-
940,000 human being lost their jobs
151,000 people found new jobs, most were retail and restaurant part time.”
The Obama administration and its agencies have presented distorted facts to us over and over again during the past 7 years. It has distorted the truth and, in turn, public opinion.
If one uses the wrong facts, one will come to the wrong conclusion.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. They are not entitled to their own facts.
That includes the President of the United States of America and his administration’s agencies.
The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.
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