Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, Thomas Sowell had two columns regarding recently released statistics on the income parity between the poor and rich. Read the first column here and part two here.
Two government agencies report different results on income between the five income brackets. So, are the rich getting richer? No. Are the poor getting poorer? No.
Why is this? Well, all income earners move between the five income brackets. So, when someone says, “The rich keep getting richer. And poor keep getting poorer”, is not entirely correct. In fact, those in the bottom fifth in 1996 had increased the income by 91% by 2005. While the upper one percent in 1996 saw their income decrease by 24% by 2005.
So, what the politicians and the media keep telling us does not jive with these numbers. Why is this? Because these numbers are based on IRS data following the actual income earner during the 10 year period. Census Bureau numbers do not do that.
In his first part, he confirms what I have thought of politicians in general:
Too many in the media and in politics choose whatever statistics fit their preconceptions.
This is typical of politicians who can never represent the data correctly. It demonstrates that we need to take all reports from the media and politicians with a grain of salt as Mr Sowell concludes in part two of his column (last paragraph):
But that is all the more reason for the rest of us to be aware of what statistics do and do not mean — and beware of those who want us to believe the worst, whether for their own political advantage or because that fits their ideological vision.
Maybe we all should take a refresher course in statistics. 
Or hold our media and politicians to a higher standard.
Posted by schulkekj 
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