Innumeracy: Definition: Incompetence with numbers. Illiteracy: Definition: Incompetence with words.
Why, you may ask, have I listed these two definitions? Because now, more than ever, as last night’s presidential debate illustrated, America has become an innumerate, as opposed to illiterate, nation. If you ask the average American, as well as President Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden, what the GDP of America is, they would come up triple zero, Vegas-style. The answer is roughly 20 trillion dollars.
This matters because when politicians discuss new government programs, such as, say, 1.2 trillion for Trump’s tax cuts, we need the context to know how much of the total economy this represents.
Take, for example, Trump and Biden’s discussion last night about the rainforest in Brazil and global warming. Neither mentioned any numbers as it relates to climate change. The Paris Accord was mentioned by Biden as something the US should rejoin, but Biden didn’t mention how much of a reduction in CO2 is necessary to stave off the worst effects of climate change and save the planet.
Biden also likes to mention, with a chuckle, that he’s “not good with numbers.” Well Joe, you should be if you want to lead this nation. Don’t celebrate your ignorance.
So, the reality is, all the nations of the world must commit to a 1.6 degree Celsius reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change. Originally it was thought that a 2.0 degree Celsius reduction would be enough, but as we see with the current mega-hurricanes around the world, unprecedented wildfires in the American West, and flooding in the Pacific Islands, more must be done. Some have even said we must now move to a 1.5 degree Celsius reduction in greenhouse gases to prevent catastrophic environmental disaster.
Does Donald Trump, or Joe Biden, have a grasp of these numbers? I doubt it. And that’s the problem.
I was a Bernie Sanders supporter, because I believed he had the best grasp of the numbers, and the strongest commitment to social justice. Now I support Joe Biden, if only because I refuse to endorse a candidate who won’t condemn white supremacy, as Trump hasn’t, and who incites armed white street gangs in the Proud Boys to attack minorities. So I’m team Biden, reluctantly.
Here’s one more point about the debate. Trump and Biden argued back and forth about who was more supportive of African-Americans. But here’s the reality of the numbers, neither of which candidate likely has any grasp of.
The average white household has a median income of 110,000. The average African-American household has a median income of 8,000, that’s right, 8,000. And the average Hispanic household has a median income of 11,000. That’s right, 11,000.
So Bernie was right to focus on income inequality. But what scares me more than anything is that Trump and Biden have no grasp whatsoever of the economic, environmental and income numbers of America. These two men are, quite simply, innumerate.
God help us all.
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