Huainanzi - Entry 34

Trey Smith

Deceptive writers are deliberately prolix and confusing in order to appear wise; competing with sophistry, their interminable reflections are inconclusive, without benefit to social order.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

Over the past year, I have chronicled the predictions and statistics related to the unemployment rate of American workers. In the latest such report, the government says we're making headway as the official unemployment rate fell from 9.0% to 8.6%. If we are to believe this drop of 0.4%, we could say that the jobs picture is starting to brighten.

But many [progressive] analysts and pundits have pointed out something the government spokespeople aren't say. Buried in the fine print of the latest report is the REAL reason the unemployment rate dipped: over 300,000 people have given up searching for jobs that don't exist! If these 300,000 people remained part of the official equation, then the supposed drop evaporates.

Put another way, the government's latest pronouncements concerning unemployment is a lie. It's nothing more than spin to cover up the reality that neither the President nor Congress has done much of anything substantive to address the bleak employment crisis.

It is sophistry that provides no tangible benefit to the public good.

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.