Data Dilemma

   When the news is good, politicians in office claim credit. When it's bad, they blame their predecessors.
   Those out of office warn of disaster, either current or pending, and they promise to fix everything.
   When the economic data indicate prosperity, the team in office urges a vote of confidence.
  Opponents, however, either ignore the reports or insist the statistics are phony, the reports are rigged, and the number crunchers are part of a grand conspiracy.
   Economic performance indicators released this past week show that while things aren't super-great, the American economy isn't falling off a cliff, either.
   The Department of Labor said more people are working, and a small rise in the unemployment rate means only that discouraged workers have returned to the labor force and are actively seeking employment.
   The Federal Reserve Board, which monitors the total output of goods and services and tries to help boost growth by manipulating the money supply, said output (GDP) continues to grow, albeit slowly, as it has for several years, but it's not yet time to change its key interest rate because of worldwide unsteadiness, especially in Europe.
   As for political reaction, expect the In team to accentuate the positive. reinforce its economic good health pitch, and urge voters to re-elect the team and stay on the road to prosperity.
   Expect the Outs to insist the economic reports and statistics are flawed,  that the agencies compiling the data are in on the conspiracy with the incumbents, they all lie, and the system is rigged in an effort to foist phony data on the public.
  All this notwithstanding the historical integrity of the various government agencies compiling the data, the economists and investors on Wall Street cheering the reports, as well as the newly hired workers, voters have a choice of which candidate to believe.