LETTER: Fact checking the RJ columnist

I usually read Victor Joecks’s columns with guarded attention. His Sunday column requires a response. Mr. Joecks made five points as “facts” for the reader to consider. He likes to find a “fact” then make his argument.

1. He cited deaths from natural disasters, quoting a number of 450,000 from the 1920s. Why that year? His number of 14,000 today is not true; it’s generally quoted as 50,000. Natural disasters versus global warming? Why not compare 2020 to 2023 using equal “facts”? Pick some numbers, then “facts.”

2. He requires that all factors be accounted for in the wage gap debate. Then he makes his convoluted argument based only on hours worked. Why not choose all factors (which are often included in most wage gap studies). Many studies find wage gaps for a variety of reasons. Pick some numbers, then “facts.”

3. He carefully cited un-armed African-American police shooting victims, who are often, he says, engaged in confrontations with officers. Was George Floyd shot or strangled? Was Breanna Taylor confronting the shots through her (wrong address) front door? He says it’s not a problem that there were only 12 African-American shooting deaths. Pick your numbers, then “facts.”

4. On child poverty rates he compares a specific Black family versus a specific white family. Any other arguments beside Black versus white? Or using family size? What about an Hispanic-American family? Chinese-American? German-American? Native American? Pick some numbers, then “facts.”

5. Finally, he says life begins at fertilization. So do death and taxes. This “fact” is based on one journal article from 1999. Are there any other opinions in other journals. What about a legal definition? Pick some numbers, then “facts.”