[deMolay]

This article confirms the old saw. "That Liars Figure and Figures Lie" http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/True-or-False-U-S-Economic-Stats-Lie/?page=all

[Roy]

Ranks right up there with:

"Easter Bunny Not Real!!!"

Sorry OF2.

[Ferretlover]

Ranks right up there with: "Easter Bunny Not Real!!!".

Or, When all else fails, manipulate the data.
Or, A Penny saved is a government oversight.

In other words, no counrty on this planet has ever seen a trough the size of the one in the US (*would* tell you how big it is, but no-one knows where the ends of it are), and that's why we have no idea how many piggies are eating out of it, nor any idea just how much is being eaten or how fast.

[hironegro]

What data are they manipulating?

[Armageddon]

What data are they manipulating?

You mean what data aren't they manipulating ?

[copious.abundance]

After years of collecting data for various government agencies myself, and doing my own research and data collection (my Catalog being one such example), I am well-aware that there is no such thing as perfect statistics.

However, pundits who think they're doing a better job of collecting their own statistics are just as foolish. Government data has its flaws, but so does the data of internet skeptics.