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Erik Hare

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Blogs by Erik Hare

Numbers Game
5/21/2007 7:03:44 AM

The real truth about our world is all around us. In these industrial-age times there are people that measure, tabulate, and report all kinds of different things. There are two problems with this.

The first problem is that you have to ask how people made their calculations. If they have an axe to grind, you can be sure that they like the way that reinforces the opinions they already had. Orwell told us most of what we need to know here.

Beyond the obvious, though, is the problem of getting the message through. Numbers alone do not make an argument that will resonate because a complicated world is best understood intuitively rather than intellectually. I would go as far as to say that everyone, regardless of how many titles they might have, uses their intellect only to inform their intuition, not master it. That's just what we are as a species.

Take, for example, an interesting fact. Local government around the nation collects about 3.5% of the economy in taxes. State governments collect about double that at 7%. Some of that money at the state level is passed on to local governments, but you can see that it's the state legislatures that make the calls on things. Where it gets interesting is at the Federal level, which at about 20% of the economy, or double state and local combined. Once again, much of that is passed through to states, but the decisions are made in Washingtoon. Is that the way things were explained to us in High School civics?

Now, how do you write a story about this? I believe that a set of numbers like this can only be used as the kernel of a good piece. The best stories along these lines must have something for the "heart and arm and brain" – a phrase I stole from "The Mary Ellen Carter" by Stan Rogers. The numbers are for the brain. The stories of people affected are for the heart. And a resulting call for action is something for the arm.

Call to action? Yes, I think that good pieces which people remember are far from objective.

Consider for a moment that in my children's school they have to conserve paper at the end each year because they start to run out. Teachers have to be judicious in what lessons they copy for the kids because the money doesn’t go to that. The copious federal funding goes into things like "No Child Left Behind", a series of standards that saw my daughter being tested for one whole week. They can take the kids out of school to test them, and the rest of the time they don’t have paper. Why? Because Washingtoon controls the money! If that makes sense to you, please write me – but if you’re as confoozed as I am, write your congressman and tell them that federal education policies are a sham.

See what I mean? Heart and Arm and Brain. Sure, it got far afield from the original numbers, but the odds are you'll remember them better this way. Writing your congressman isn't the most effective call to action, but at least it's something. And if I was writing a real piece to sell, I'd have an interview with a teacher to describe the paper shortage more firsthand.

The point is that numbers are all around us, and tell us about our world. Making them into good stories takes a bit of work and understanding of people, but it's not hard. Those of us with the numbers, and who know the truth, need to do a better job.

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More Blogs by Erik Hare
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