Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Stats That Matter
Date:	9/9/2016 4:42:44 PM

Everyone is throwing this or that statistic to prove opposing points.  It would be interesting to get opinions from all on Stats That Matter.

For instance, here are two stats that I think are good barometers on where we are and our solvency

1.  Number of folks in the work place.  As a recipient of social security, which I know to be a Ponzi scheme, I know that enough new investors are crucial to the scheme working.  Unemployment figures are meaningless if it only counts those looking for jobs and does not take into account the un-seeking, who are not working and not looking to work, therefore not paying wage taxes.

2.  National Debt.  This figure shows the significant amount that we have spent over what the government has received.  This figure harms new services, continuation of vital services, and puts our country vulnerable to creditors.  I do understand the concept of government spending to boost an economy, but that works only as it promotes number 1.

What do you see as Stats That Matter?

Name:	architect -	Reply
Subject:	Stats That Matter
Date:	9/9/2016 10:54:27 PM (updated 9/9/2016 10:58:45 PM)

The statistics you mention are important, but for them to be meaningful and better understood they need to be refined and expanded

1/  The number or the percentage of people in the workforce would be more meaningful if they included a breakdown on the number not looking for work because they no longer wish to work compared with the number not looking because they have given up...I think the results might be very instructive.

2/  The national debt is a critical statistic, but it only becomes truly informative when it is expanded to include the annual rate of increase and whether that trend is up or down, the debt as a percentage of GDP and the comparative rate of increase or decrease in each, and the trends in tax income compared to expenditures.

The GDP, quarterly economic growth or lack thereof, unemployment rate, the number of new jobs each month, retail sales, corporate profits and investments, government deficits or surpluses, the number of home sales and home starts, inflation, interest rates, etc etc are all important bits of info, but they all are more than just a number.  For any of them, looking at the internals and between the lines information make them more meaningful in understanding what they are supposedly recording.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Stats That Matter
Date:	9/10/2016 12:49:49 AM

100 percent opinion.

Name:	wix -	Reply
Subject:	Stats That Matter
Date:	9/10/2016 9:34:35 AM

Most important stat you'll never see....how many of those not seeking employment are enjoying welfare, Medicaid, EBT, free cell phones, etc.