HOW TO DEAL WITH POLITICAL CHOICES

The Difficulty of Getting to the Meaningful Truth

    (1:00 pm)   As the first real post to this blog, a good place to start seems to be to lay out an approach to the task. The thing that I find most frustrating about politics is the difficulty of getting to the meaningful truth.

    A hypothetical example:  One spokesman says, "Our program saves $2 billion,"  but the opposition says, "No, it only saves $200 million."  Of course, neither one is the meaningful truth, because the OMB ( or the CBO or  some "think tank") says its calculations show that it will only save $1 trillion, but those savings will be over the next 10 years (not in next year's budget alone), and it does not include the administrative costs of the program ($200 million per year) nor the fact that in 10 years, inflation will have made the costs double and the remaining savings amount becomes negligible.

    Were you confused by that paragraph?  Welcome!  So, what can we do?

    Over the decades, I have tried several ways to cut through this problem, and have come up with this 6-step* approach:

1. Listen to as many viewpoints as I can (based on available time and my brain's ability to deal with ambiguity).  Keep an open mind for new ways to see things.
2. Learn to translate the code words*.  What do they mean by "spending cut?"
3. Assess the credibility of each source (as best I can).
4. Compare the information with my best understanding of how the real world actually works.
5. Compare the issues/candidates with my own values and ethics (religious, social, economic, etc.).
6. Come to some decision on WHO DO I TRUST to accomplish the best thing as events unfold differently than planned (as they usually do).

    Since NONE of the steps can be done perfectly, I think there are some helpful techniques:

• Let each step help the others.
• Pay close attention to steps 2, 3, and 4.
• Rely on a few (trustworthy) others to do some of this work, and share their results/opinions.

    It sort of boils down to this:
Figure out who I can trust the best to help me make the best decision.

    With those concepts in mind, let's get busy!  Expand my mind with your views!  Check out a few links below.  Let's get ready to digest the VP debate tonight!

*This step was contributed by a reader/commenter (see Robb Wilson's comment below).  I think he is correct, and it is a distinct and necessary step.  Thanks!

LINKS:
Debunking Romney-Ryan Medicare Myths
Obama frequently attacks Ryan's Medicare plan -- but is he correct?

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