Loose with numbers?

An Associated Press economics writer, Martin Crutsinger, reported in an article dated Sept. 26, 2014, that the Commerce Department announced that for the April-June 2014 Quarter, the Gross Domestic Product advanced at a 4.6 percent annual rate.

In the same article, he reports that Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist at BMO Capital Markets, reported the GDP for the same time period grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate. Quite a difference between the two reports.

Then my memory bank started to kick in, and I recalled that in September 2010, the Commerce Department provided a very positive report for the 2010 April-June quarter. After the elections, that number was revised by the Commerce Department to indicate it was not as positive as previously reported. Again, in September 2012, the Commerce Department provided a very positive report on the 2012 April-June quarter. After the elections, that number was revised by the Commerce Department to indicate it was not as positive as previously reported.

I am left to wonder now: Will the Commerce Department again revise the GDP number after the 2014 elections?

Would the Commerce Department put out positive numbers for political purposes? Can this current administration be trusted to tell the truth about our economy, the Internal Revenue Service policies, the death of a U.S. Ambassador, or the cost and policies associated with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)?

So many questions, and so few credible answers. —Dale B. Heldstab, Columbia Falls