Liberty
Do 20% of children go hungry?
I was in middle school before I realized that my family was poor — what we today call the ‘working poor.’ My dad was a truck driver with an eighth-grade…
Statistics
study of the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data
Education
Avoid Unnecessary Education Losses, Give Parents Choice
K-12 schools in North Carolina are closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. This has many children switching from in-person schooling to online education. This transition can be difficult, not just…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
‘How to Lie With Statistics’: Teachers Union Edition
Allysia Finley of the Wall Street Journal notes how teacher unions disseminate and distort education finance statistics for political gain. North Carolina gets a mention! The NEA encourages its affiliate…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Forsyth County Bond Referenda
Forsyth County residents will be voting next week on a set of bond issues totaling $430 million. The largest one is $350 million for local schools, but there are two…
Liberty
Sowell warns of misused statistics
Thomas Sowell‘s latest column at Human Events warns readers to be wary of the misuse of statistics during the closing weeks of this campaign season. Even if the statistics themselves…
Liberty
Give the Gift of Good Mathematical Modeling
I’ve been dorking around on the Tax Foundation’s web site while I try to eat dinner. We can’t get political here, and so I am only offering this based on…
Liberty
As If Control Wouldn’t Limit Choice?
The Cato Institute released a statistical analysis that concluded the positive correlation between minimum wage and unemployment rates is not spurious. Although I am a big fan of the Cato…
Liberty
Stats Are for Molecules
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a customer satisfaction survey of 4500 random addressees. Surveys annoy me. They ask people weird questions on subjects they would never consider in…
Liberty
Don’t Burn Books – Cook Them
From the headlines today, we read of plans to build a new ABC store, a new casino, and a new brewery. This is celebrated as an indicator of prosperity. By…
Elections & Public Integrity
A classic from Thomas Sowell: Government statistics
You have to laugh to keep from crying.
Liberty
Take new Elon poll with a grain of salt (Updated)
Poll gives Romney small lead in NC in presidential race – National – NewsObserver.com. The link abov reports that the new Elon Universitynpoll gives Mitt Romney a four-point lead over…
Liberty
39 inch sea level rise–not a very useful number for policy analysis
Over the last week we have heard a lot about the prediction of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel on Coastal Hazards, an effort supported by the NC Department…