This is all good stuff and a long-winded argument about statistics can lead to just about any conclusion that is desired. Unfortunately, I think that most people pay little attention to the numbers that fly back and forth and don't get much deeper than "the Carter years were [good/bad] times," "the Reagan years were [good/bad] times," "the Clinton years were [good/bad] times," etc.
However, maybe some folks can be persuaded with numbers. ;-)
some folks can be persuaded with numbersTrue, if you tell some people that the computer printout says pigs can fly -- they'll believe it. The important thing is the conscious choice to seek truth. Do we seek economic data to learn about the economy or are we grabbing numbers to win a political argument?