State of the Union - Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Disraeli stated 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics", and the President proved it in the State of the Union Address. In that speech he commented that not making his tax cuts permanent would cause "116 million American taxpayers [to] see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800". And I have no reason to not believe this statement to be factually true. However it is clearly a lie by statistics. It is my understanding at majority of Americans would would see their taxes increase by $400.00. So if the President wanted most Americans to know how this tax law he would have stated '116 million American taxpayers [to] see their taxes rise by a median amount of $400' or maybe even more clearly 'the average taxpayer will see an increase of $400 in their taxes'.

Lets say for example that the tax laws that will expire only increased taxes on incomes over 100,000. Then the President could still make his statement and it would still be true, but the averages taxpayer would not see any change int their income tax. Because most Americans make less than $100,000.

So next time you hear the word average in a statement, it is likely a lie, take a close look.