Federal figures fictional

The government gives out fuzzy and fraudulent numbers and the media eats them up.

The “national budget” is phony. It includes Social Security to make it look bigger. Social Security and Medicare and part of other social services are financed individually and are referred to as “entitlements.” That is because they are funded by separate payroll taxes that must be used only for those programs. The rest of the federal government borrows from these funds, which have surpluses. Social Security is listed as 42 percent of the phony federal budget.

Then there is the defense budget, which is listed as 23 percent of the “budget.” Without counting in Social Security it would be over 40 percent of the budget. It doesn’t include veterans’ costs and “supplemental war costs” and so much else that we would consider “defense” costs.

Unemployment is 10 percent. Not if it was figured as in the ’30s. The numbers have been “tweaked” by several presidents since the Great Depression so that now they are comparing apples to oranges and getting tugboats. Using 1930s criteria, unemployment would be at least 20 percent.

The inflation numbers are laughable and historically incomparable. Presidents have played with these, too.

Can’t believe the government? Right!

Bart Haggin

Spokane