Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

In the twelve years that I have owned rental property, I have evicted eight tenants. All eight—100 percent—of those I evicted were black. This fact might lead one to conclude that I am a racist. But reaching a conclusion on the basis of out of context statistics can easily lead one to incorrect conclusions. Yet, this is a tactic frequently used by Leftists in an attempt to prove some point.

Statistics can be useful but only if they are considered in their full context. To illustrate, here is more of the context: over 90 percent of my tenants have been black. In the full context, my record of evicting black tenants takes on a very different meaning. When evaluating any piece of information, including statistics, we must always identify and consider the full context.

As an example, an article about a tenants’ “rights” law recently enacted in King County, Washington, states,

The lack of tenant protections in King County disproportionately affects Black tenants. Despite making up only 7% of the county’s population, Black tenants accounted for one-third of all eviction filings and 23% of all no-cause evictions…

These statistics are offered to imply that landlords (presumably white landlords) have some special animosity towards black tenants. To the Leftists, if something happens to blacks disproportionately, that is a clear sign that the system is flawed and racist. If blacks are disproportionately evicted, the system is racist. If blacks are disproportionately incarcerated, the system is racist.

But consider what the article cited above doesn’t tell us. We don’t know how many of the black tenants were evicted by black landlords. That number is crucial if we want to objectively evaluate the implication that evictions are being motivated by racists attitudes. We don’t know what percentage of renters in the county are black. That number is far more relevant than the percent of the county’s population. If blacks constitute a high percentage of renters, then it makes sense that their evictions would exceed their percentage of the country’s population. And in considering the full context, we must also keep in mind a non-statistical fact: if evictions are being based on racism against blacks, then we need an explanation why landlords are renting to blacks to begin with.

This use of statistics is an example of a phrase popularized by Mark Twain. From Wikipedia:

“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is a phrase describing the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments.

And this is precisely how Leftists often use statistics. They can’t argue their case on its merits. Instead, they obscure the issue with a number and then attempt to get their audience to jump to an unwarranted conclusion. And that tactic can be very effective, particularly when the audience fails to consider the full context.