the real numbers are far worse. we are routinely lied to by our media. it is primarily owned by a few hands and so they dont censor, they just dont publish truthfully.

example, they would publish a statement like, "detroit has now reached 15% unemployment", when the fact is, it is really at a much higher rate than that. but i dont want to open a can of worms on that illustrative point. if i chose a bad example then i beg your pardon.

but as a nation, we are routinely lied to.