Evaluation Notes

Goals of this site include:

• All data will be sourced.
• Sources should be from reputable websites including .gov sites, major news organizations, etc. as much as possible. Wiki articles may be considered if the page includes appropriate references.

Data is data. Analysis is subjective. Any indication of “better” or “worse” will be what we feel is the most reasonable way of looking at the data from the eyes of the general population. This does not mean there will not be negative side-effects of the change in data. For example…

Consider the scenario of the wages for all employees of a company of 100 increasing by 20%.  While we would probably label this as “better”, not everything about the change could be considered better. Some possible effects are…

• The effect of the increased wages on each person’s life.
• Potential for increased happiness leading to increased productivity of employees.
• Employee absenteeism may decrease if an employee is able to buy a more reliable car, have backup daycare they can pay for, etc.
• Company profits may take a significant hit due to higher salary.
• Lower profits may lead to less investment in the future.
• Lower profits may lead to potential layoffs in order to maintain company profitability.
• Prices may increase for customers.
• Increased prices may lead to loss of business and loss of revenue.
• Not raising salaries could lead to good, productive employees leaving the company for better pay, leading to multpiple harmful effects to the company.

One small change at this level can have varying effects, and on a nationwide level, even more so.