Lies, Damned Lies and Government Statistics
[Editor's note: the following post is by Jim Karger, TDV Legal Correspondent]
My grandmother grew up in the backwoods of Arkansas. She had a
fourth grade education and worked in the fields. When she was 12 years
old she threw down her cotton sack and took a train to Texas to live
with an aunt she had never met. She lived a hard life, never had much
of a chance, and yet she was one of the wisest people I have ever known.
She taught me many life lessons that have served me well, one of which went like this: "Jimmy," she would say as she waved her finger in my face, "most folks will lie even when the truth works better."
Not a particularly rosy view of humanity, but it was, and is, deadly accurate.
