Our Facts Don't Match

My "facts" don't match yours.

This is a really serious problem in a democracy, too! If your facts say "X" and mine say "Y" someone's facts are wrong — and we have no way to prove which. Seriously! Maybe your facts are correct, but I can't prove it, so I make bad decisions. And so do you when my facts are right.

Some politicians and reporters claim that Mr. Clinton left a surplus and trot out real numbers to prove it. Some politicians and reporters claim that Mr. Clinton left a deficit that was camouflaged, and trot out real numbers to prove it. I have no idea which numbers (or interpretation) are correct.

This, I believe, is part of why democracy is decreasingly efficient here. If we don't shrink and simplify government, and demand better reporting from the media (and from politicians), we make worse and worse decisions (voting).