10/15/2012

LIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT


It seems these days with an election coming, we are subjected to a lot of half-truths. I ran across one the other day that I found interesting.

We have been told that Social Security System is going broke. One of the reasons cited was that people are living longer than expected. This might be true but the statistic quoted is, “In 1935, life expectancy was 65.” This seems to also be true but it doesn’t mention infant mortality which was much higher then than it is now. Once people arrived at a working age their life expectancy was a much more than 65.

I don’t know that this proves anything except that it’s never safe to accept political rhetoric as absolute fact.

The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 15, 2012