Numbers matter. Always.

Not just the numbers we discussed last week in the piece titled “Obama’s numbers are plummeting in the polls.”

Whether we are glancing at the speedometer, warily looking down as we step on the bathroom scale, reading last night’s scores, or hearing the latest unemployment numbers, interest on the federal debt, and so on, the numbers always matter.

Why? The numbers tell us a story.

The numbers tell us how fast we were going, how much we may have been overeating, how our favorite sports team performed the night before, how many of our fellow citizens are reportedly out of work, how much deeper in debt our country is in, and more — much more.

The numbers also tell the truth. That is why it is often said, “The numbers (or figures) never lie.”

Or, do they?

Put another way, “The figures never lie; but the liars always figure.”

That is why, when it comes to many of the numbers that matter, increasingly it seems that only the ball scores can be trusted.

Who among us hasn’t hit the brake, not to stop, but slow down quickly at the sight of a highway patrol car, and felt trepidation as we glanced in the rearview mirror. Frequently, we feel this same trepidation when we step on the scale, open the morning newspaper to the sports section, or anxiously listen the next time unemployment figures are reported.

Yes, the numbers do matter, and the numbers always tell a story.

In the examples given above, each of us know the truth because we see the real numbers.

We know that neither the speedometer nor the scale lied in the numbers displayed.

We know too that the newspaper is not publishing inaccurate numbers in the sports box scores, at least not knowingly.

Typically, when a newspaper learns they have inadvertently published inaccurate information, they report the error in the next edition.

The exception may be when reporting government numbers and figures … regarding unemployment, actual government spending, interest on the debt, how much current year spending might actually get cut, and so on.

Which brings us back to that old saying how does it go again?

“The figures don’t lie but the … .”

It’s time those in the federal government start reporting the real numbers because … the numbers always matter.

Richard is president of Olivastro Communications and founder of Citizens for Change. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, he is available pro bono for fundraisers and public forums and can be reached via e-mail: RichOlivastro@gmail.com or 1-877-RichSpeaks.