The Last Word Posted Oct. 13, 2003 Rigging the 'Poverty' Rate as a Political Ploy Phony economic statistics always have been an effective political weapon - and with a presidential election coming up the let's-get-Bush media have been having a high old time. Alan Reynolds, in a recent piece for the Washington Times, tells it like it is: "Consider first the headline estimate that 43.6 million people are without health insurance." The facts: This is only an "instant snapshot" of a given day. The Survey of Income and Program Participation notes that people come on and off economic and participation...