They look at nominal numbers and run with it;
"Did you know back in 1872 milk cost 3 cents a gallon. BUT UNDER GEORGE BUSH IT COSTS $3! Bush is in cahoots with Big Milk. Impeach Bush now!"
Of course, maybe that might be a bit extreme, but I have seen such outlandish comparisons in the past that make most economists' heads shake. But this was one where I think we need a lesson in economics;
There is a thing called "Critical Mass" wherein bicyclists in the city clog the main roads to protest the use of cars and advocate the use of bikes. No doubt a more lefter leaning group, and no doubt they cause more carbon to be emitted as they effectively create a traffic jam, but that aside this is just another case of leftists not bothering to have any semblance of intellectual honesty, or perhaps are just plain lazy.
Adjust for GDP people. It's like saying "Bill Gate's has over $1 MILLION dollars in credit card debt! What a big bad debt hog!"
Well, big whoop. He's got $40 billion in assets. You have to compare the amount of debt to what the government (or individual or company or economy) makes. Yes, there is $9.6 trillion in GROSS federal debt (another adjustment I shall ignore for now), but as a percent of GDP that's only 72%.
To compare to yourself, ask how much debt you owe (student, credit cards, mortgage, etc) and divide that by your gross income. Most people would would be well above 100%, probably even 200%.
Now, I do share the bicycle rider's sentiment that Bush has spent too much (though he would contest it was on Iraq and I would contest - with documented proof - it was social security and medicare), but can we just agree to do some simple token, high school economics and adjust for things like inflation and GDP?
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