Massaging the Numbers

For John, BLUF:  This is a takeoff of Lord Wellington's quip to a reporter on statistics.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Playing With Numbers

From The Instatpundit, by Editor Mark Tapscott.

Here is the lede plus two:

THREE KINDS OF LIES:  There are lies, damned lies and Biden’s statistics.  Exhibit A from his recent State of the Onion, according to Issues & Insights (I&I), is his claim that the richest Americans pay on average a net tax of 8.2 percent.  What???  Biden should have asked his IRS:

“It calculates the actual tax rate that various income groups pay, including the ultra-rich.  Its data show that the 400 people with the biggest incomes in America were paying an average tax rate of more than 23 percent.  Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation figures that the tax rate on the top 0.4 percent of families is 26 percent,” I&I explains.

“So where does Biden come up with an 8.2 percent tax rate?  He changes the definition of taxable income to include all unrealized gains from investments.  If you have money in the stock market, any gains in the value of those stocks would count as income to Biden, even if you don’t sell the stock.  Presumably so would any gains in the value of your home.  Or the value of any other assets you possess.”

Posted 11 March, at 10:41 am, by Editor Mark Tapscott

This should put us on alert for any time we hear a statistic coming from President Biden or the White House.♠  I saw several exsamples of questionable statistics in President Biden's most recent State of the Union speech.  Then, of course, there is his amorphous "everyone pay their fair share".  But, what is a fair share?  Is it related to a percentsge of your income, or your wealth, or related to the value you are able to withdraw from the economy?  Or is it that since everyone has the benefit of being an American, should everyone pay the same?

The worst part of this Presidential performance is it is causing young people and people in their middle age to think that all of us near the age of President Biden are stumble bums and mentally deficient.  This is the worst sort of ageism.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Or is it all Democrafts or is it all Politicians?