Since December 2016, I’ve had dozens of my letters printed in the VMS. The last thing I would write is something that can not be verified.
In my 1/1/17 “Not so fast” letter, among the many statements that I made was, “According to a recent Harvard/Princeton study, 94% of all Obama era jobs were either part time or temporary/ contract labor jobs”.
Bruce Poropat who evidently could not find the source of that statement wrote the following in his 1/16/17 “Don’t confuse socialism and communism” letter: “A Harvard study says that 95 percent of new jobs under Obama were part time.
There is no such study. Search the Harvard website. Many farright websites mention that same imaginary figure, but none link to a source.
It can be hard to tell the truth from trumpism, but be careful not to quote sources that just make stuff up.”
For the VMS readers that are interested in the truth, the source of my Obama era jobs statement was, “The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States … “ by Princeton economist Lawrence F. Katz and Harvard economist Alan B. Kruger.
The same study is quoted in a 12/8/16 NBC News article, “Most Jobs Created Since 2005 Are Nontraditional” and a US News and World Report article, “Are We Living in a Ghost Job Market?”
Far-right websites? Imaginary figures? Really?
N. Rodriguez Harlingen
