Even Though Numbers Can Lie

Sometimes I get quite annoyed at the intelligence level of the average North American news report. I'm certainly not the first to complain about media. Unfortunately, a great number of media outlets would suppose that 'international affairs' probably involves the kinky bedroom antics of a Hollywood star. I listen to BBC podcasts as, at least, they have reporters on the ground in many of the countries on which they're reporting.

Reporting nowadays seems to consist of asking people how they feel about situations rather than digging in and providing necessary details. For example, with the copious reporting on the bailout of the North American auto industry players, GM and Chrysler, I've often heard about their importance to the nation's economy. Yet, never once did I actually hear a report with many actual facts. What percentage of the economy is it? I think the big three account for under 1% of US GDP. They provide jobs for 0.6 of the workforce in the United States.

We can have short sight when it comes to numbers. Oil is falling to historic lows, right? Crude is trading at under $35 a barrel right at the moment. Is this really low historically, or just when compared to the $150 aberration of last summer? Again, trying to find this type of data is hard. It's certainly not something that's going to be on the Evening News. It's a shame really as people are smarter than we give them credit for, I think. At least a few are.


(Copied from www.wtrg.com.) It's interesting to be off
the right side of this graph now heading back to more more
normal prices.