Kerry's Fuzzy Math (from WSJ OpinionJournal)
Yesterday we noted that John Kerry had claimed, in a Columbus, Ohio, speech, that more black Americans are in prison than in college. It turns out that KERRY LIED!!!! Blogger Clyde Middleton has the numbers (links below in PDF):
The US [Department of Justice] tells us the number of blacks incarcerated at mid-year 2002 (page 11, Table 13): 818,900 black men; 65,600 black women; total 884,500 blacks.
The US Census Bureau tells us the number of blacks in college during 2002: 802,000 black men; 1,476,000 black women; total 2,278,000 blacks.
It's true that among black men the number of prison inmates was slightly higher than the number of college students. But as the Statistical Assessment Service notes, this is a meaningless comparison, since "you can go to prison at any age, but are most likely to be in college between the ages of 18-24." A college-age black man, it turns out, is 2.5 times as likely to be in college as in prison. Also worth noting: A career criminal can easily end up spending decades of his life behind bars, while only the laziest student stays in college that long.
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Columbus Townhall > Forum > Politics > Local (Moderators: Peter, CTH Public Relations)
Topic: Kerry Lied in Columbus!
