“Figures don’t lie, but liars figure” reflects Mark Twain’s sage advice to all of us.

Keeping such wisdom in mind makes sense because while it applies in all arenas of our lives, perhaps Mr. Twain was referring to politicians.

“Figures don’t lie, but liars figure” means that the numbers themselves do not lie but people who wish to lie can manipulate their calculations — or those of others — so that the numbers are misleading and can be used to support their claims, assertions or legislation.

Let’s apply Twain’s principle to the health care charade now being performed by actors on stage in the U.S. Congress. Doing so identifies the scripted spin, inconsistencies and manipulations written into the current production emanating from Washington’s “Theater of the Absurd.’

First, some data from the U.S. Census Bureau that will provide a context in which to objectively and fairly apply Twain’s principle to elements of the health care legislation introduced last week by the majority in the U.S. House. Census Bureau data is used because there continues to be debate, by some, about exactly how many Americans are uninsured.

The Census Bureau estimates there were more than 47 million people, or 15.8 percent of the U.S. population, without health insurance in 2006. While that number is almost certainly higher now, the bureau estimated that, at the time, 70 percent were in between employment, 10 percent were homeless or chronically unemployed, and the remaining 20 percent were “illegals” living in the United States.

If not understated, that means illegal immigrants represent, at least, 1 in 5 of the uninsured living the United States.

Buried within the legislation is new law that quietly “expands Medicaid health care to all non-elderly with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Thus, the clear intent of the provision is to cover as many, if not yet all, individuals here illegally. That explodes further the cost burdens on citizen taxpayers.

The Census Bureau also reports that 33 percent lived in households earning over $50,000 that elected not to buy insurance, 26 percent are between 18-35 years old who deliberately didn’t buy, and, the remaining 34 percent are children eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP but not enrolled.

These facts reveal the lie to those who are consciously manipulating the figures and their message to the masses.

The 1,018-page health-care bill rushed through the U.S. House at President Obama’s behest, while yet again beating the drum of crisis, is another example of the reckless disregard for the individual freedom and personal choice decisions of Americans.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimate “showed that even if the price tag holds to $1 trillion, more than 80 percent of the costs will hit in the last five years.” The implication is that “after 2019, taxpayers could be hit with a rising tidal wave of health care expenses” if Obama gets his way. Despite the effect on current residents and future generations, the president is hell-bent in shifting health-care coverage from the private to public sector, and, is pushing legislators to hurry.

Even some Democrats are wary. One Democratic aide said the bill would add up to $1.5 trillion over the next decade. That would expand further the negative impact on taxpayers, wiping out still more of their net income.

To paraphrase the late Walter Cronkite: “We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the leaders in Washington to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find; (and to do so again) is to (foolishly) believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past.

“And that’s the way it is.”

And that’s the way it will be until Americans apply Mark Twain’s principle: “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”

Richard Olivastro is president of Olivastro Communications and founder Citizens For Change. He can be reached at Rich@Olivastro.NET or 877.RichSpeaks.