It's sort of like the City of Portland's triple-A credit rating -- true yet misleading.
Comments (8)
There's some basis for the way the government puts these numbers together. That they are not "cooked" is evidenced by the fact that they are reported both ways—both the unemployment and the inflation numbers (which, by the way, are higher just now without food and energy than with, because of the decline in oil prices). The press just can't be bothered with that kind of nuance.
It's not just media reporting that filters out the inconvenient numbers. Politicians do it, too. Not to mention the use of the less meaningful figures in calculating Social Security benefits, tax brackets, and many other government measures supposedly based on inflation.
I think only 10 percent of Portland's bond issuances are rated triple A. The raters based their ratings on city hall's ability to rob water and sewer rate payers whenever the city should get in a pinch.
It's frustrating Mayor Adams routinely touts his plan to subsidize job growth, when there is very little evidence other than such policy only ends up racking up financial losses (as reported in the Oregonian a week ago Saturday) and very little job creation. If anything Portland's pinchant for public subsidies makes the city look like a risky investment, because at some point city residents are going to have pay back a mounting pile of debt. Even the city's financial auditor in her July report to the Mayor says the financial condition of Portland is worsening because of escalating real debt and unfunded obligations. Yet city hall ignores this report and goes about its merry unsound spending ways.
And that's why I asked the Work Force Oregon people to address those numbers in their news conference. I sent them the questions the day before and was assured they would be asked.
I'm not sure they would have done squat with it had I not asked.
The Zero has address the U6 numbers in past years but usually in a little story in the biz section. Not today, I see...
Lookie there, the "Hobbits" DO make a difference.
On the other hand, government (Census and HHS) cooks the books on how many are officially in "poverty" because income does not include transfer payments. As a result, many more are in poverty, which might be acceptable for PR purposes, but it becomes a criterion for eligibility for many government benefits. In short, it increases demand for tax dollars by using this calculation.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (8)
There's some basis for the way the government puts these numbers together. That they are not "cooked" is evidenced by the fact that they are reported both ways—both the unemployment and the inflation numbers (which, by the way, are higher just now without food and energy than with, because of the decline in oil prices). The press just can't be bothered with that kind of nuance.
Posted by Allan L. | August 17, 2011 4:08 PM
"It's amazing how the government cooks or ignores numbers it doesn't like."
Now you know why they hire PR flacks instead of people who know math.
Unemployment high? Not for red-haired brewers. Crappy math scores? Tests just don't measure what the OEA does for students.
The saddest thing is how people here drop their critical thinking for anyone who claims to be progressive/green/sustainable.
Posted by Steve | August 17, 2011 4:16 PM
It's not just media reporting that filters out the inconvenient numbers. Politicians do it, too. Not to mention the use of the less meaningful figures in calculating Social Security benefits, tax brackets, and many other government measures supposedly based on inflation.
Posted by Jack Bog | August 17, 2011 4:34 PM
I think only 10 percent of Portland's bond issuances are rated triple A. The raters based their ratings on city hall's ability to rob water and sewer rate payers whenever the city should get in a pinch.
It's frustrating Mayor Adams routinely touts his plan to subsidize job growth, when there is very little evidence other than such policy only ends up racking up financial losses (as reported in the Oregonian a week ago Saturday) and very little job creation. If anything Portland's pinchant for public subsidies makes the city look like a risky investment, because at some point city residents are going to have pay back a mounting pile of debt. Even the city's financial auditor in her July report to the Mayor says the financial condition of Portland is worsening because of escalating real debt and unfunded obligations. Yet city hall ignores this report and goes about its merry unsound spending ways.
Posted by Bob Clark | August 17, 2011 6:48 PM
And that's why I asked the Work Force Oregon people to address those numbers in their news conference. I sent them the questions the day before and was assured they would be asked.
I'm not sure they would have done squat with it had I not asked.
The Zero has address the U6 numbers in past years but usually in a little story in the biz section. Not today, I see...
Lookie there, the "Hobbits" DO make a difference.
Posted by Victoria Taft | August 17, 2011 7:09 PM
Because Ipads and Iphones are adding new features, using "modernized" inflation measures prices are falling....
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42551209/Inflation_Actually_Near_10_Using_Older_Measure
Let them eat Ipads...
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/05/03/the_fed_may_deny_it_but_inflation_is_back_254753.html
Posted by Newleaf | August 17, 2011 7:21 PM
When the employment numbers tick up, watch how the BlueOregon kids react.
If a D is in charge, they will say, "Look deficit spending works!"
If an R is in charge, they will say, "But, those aren't good jobs." (Remember, kids, the only good job is a union job.)
Posted by Garage Wine | August 18, 2011 7:18 AM
On the other hand, government (Census and HHS) cooks the books on how many are officially in "poverty" because income does not include transfer payments. As a result, many more are in poverty, which might be acceptable for PR purposes, but it becomes a criterion for eligibility for many government benefits. In short, it increases demand for tax dollars by using this calculation.
Posted by Don Lief | August 20, 2011 6:54 PM