In fiction, withholding necessary information from the reader and misleading him is self-destructive behavior by any author. Such an approach announces to the world that the author is a) grossly incompetent; b) a phony; c) a propagandist; or d) any or all of the above.

Good literature respects its audience. A writer who wishes to be read, if he is honest with himself, desires that his reader be someone who will put some thought into what he has written. He writes in such a way that the possibility of connecting with another in an honest way is possible. Any deception vanquishes that possibility.

To the writer, the act of writing is a gift to himself, but it is also a gift to the reader. And like any gift we give, we should not attempt to control the recipient’s response. (How can we possibly do that, unless we are close-minded bullies? The uniqueness of each human being produces unique responses. We cannot impose our will over another, whether by force or deception, without giving up our humanity.)

The writer conceives his words and then sends them forth, like a mother her children. A  reader may choose to receive his words with a clear and open mind, but it matters little whether the reader likes or dislikes or accepts or rejects the writer’s words, or remains unmoved or indifferent. That is not the writer’s concern. Nor should it be. Good writing is as simple as honesty. And too often honesty is missing from writing.

Here is a recent example of dishonesty in journalism. I am no Socialist, nor am I a disciple of Ayn Rand. I have no allegiance to any political party. I do not believe anyone should restrict how much money anyone else can earn, as long as it is earned legally and without exploiting others. But I am weary of hearing people proclaim how unjustly the very rich are treated in this country, and how the rich are going to move to another country and take their money and jobs with them, leaving us financial orphans…

I received a link to an article sporting the provocative title, “Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95%” by Scott A. Hodge of taxfoundation.org. The article was published last July, but the attitude it represents seems to have permeated the national consciousness, particularly since the presidential election of the Democrat, Barack Obama.

This simple graph was presented as evidence:

A Disturbing Trend (to Some)

Long ago a friend of mine in high school was taking a Statistics course. He referred to it as “a royal pain in the ass.” Nothing remarkable about that, as most high school courses were described in that way, but I do remember him quoting his teacher:  “Statistics can be manipulated to make any point you want.”

These words were a stark revelation to my teenaged brain! You can use words to do the same. But if deception is your aim, then you discredit yourself. And if you do so publicly, you lose professional credibility. A few minutes examining the actual IRS data the writer cited to add legitimacy to his point reveals a more balanced picture.

The IRS numbers actually demonstrate how the very rich, the top 1% of Americans in terms of average gross income, would be utter fools to leave the US for another country! The IRS charts show all types of data from 1980 to 2007. During that time, the income of the top 1% increased by about 300%, and their tax rate in 2007 was the lowest during that 27-year span.

Those facts were conveniently omitted by the writer. Why? Because they contradict the point he is making.

The top 1% are not being singled out unjustly. In fact, the very opposite could be argued.  The rest of us should be so unjustly treated! The portion of the total national gross income of the top 1% went from 8% in 1980 to 23% in 2007! That means the percentage of gross income for the rest of us went down over that period, from 92% to 77%.

Where is the outcry? The wringing of hands? The fact is the “tax burden” of the very rich (if you insist on calling it that), will continue to increase as their percentage of the national gross income, or their piece of the American Pie, increases.

That is just basic math. And math doesn’t lie. Neither should writers.

You can see the actual IRS numbers here.