Lies, Damned Lies, and Government Statistics

Tags Big GovernmentBureaucracy and RegulationEconomic PolicyMedia and CulturePoliticsUnemploymentU.S. EconomyU.S. History

06/08/2023Ryan McMakenTho Bishop

On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop discuss the role statistics play in promoting the regime. Topics include some interesting differences in recently reported unemployment data, changes to inflation reporting over time, government withholding of various reports — including crime and money supply measures — as well as alternative measures Austrians use to better cut through state propaganda.

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Recommended Reading

"Yet Another Month of Questionable Federal Jobs Data as 310,000 Fewer People Report Having Jobs" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/RR_137_A

"The "True" Money Supply: A Measure of the Supply of the Medium of Exchange in the U.S. Economy" by Joseph Salerno: Mises.org/RR_137_B

"Does GDP Present an Accurate Picture of the Economy? Not Likely" by Frank Shostak: Mises.org/RR_137_C

"World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals" by Murray Rothbard: Mises.org/RR_137_D

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Authors:

Contact Ryan McMaken

Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is executive editor at the Mises Institute. Send him your article submissions for the Mises Wire and Power and Market, but read article guidelines first. Ryan has a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in public policy and international relations from the University of Colorado. He was a housing economist for the State of Colorado. He is the author of Breaking Away: The Case of Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Smaller Polities and Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

Contact Tho Bishop

Tho is Editorial and Content Manager for the Mises Institute, and can assist with questions from the press. Prior to working for the Mises Institute, he served as Deputy Communications Director for the House Financial Services Committee. His articles have been featured in The Federalist, the Daily Caller, Business Insider, The Washington Times, and The Rush Limbaugh Show.

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