Making sense out of numbers ... it can be a difficult task

Fifty years ago, I was entering high school when President Richard Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974, becoming the only president to do so.

Two years later the movie All the President’s Men became a box office hit about the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon’s presidency.

By the time I entered college and enrolled in my first journalism course, our college professors always reminded us to “follow the numbers”.

“Anyone can write a great story … but remember you need to look at the numbers, too,” said my professor, Dr. John Madsen. Another favorite saying of his was: “Always remember to tell the story on how a budget or expense will hit the pocketbooks of your readers.”

Our journalism professor also taught me and my classmates how to read a spreadsheet as well as a Profit-and-Loss statement. It was mandatory to attend city council, county board and school board meetings as part of his class’s syllabus. He’d provide us with a copy of the each of the entity’s budget and say, “write me a story about this.”

At first, I was scared. My only savior was…a good accounting professor who helped me decipher the numbers if I promised her a few treasures from the “care package” my mother would send me a couple of times a month. Seemed like a good trade at the time.

And it was.

Four decades in the newspaper business, looking at the numbers has served me well.

Of course, it helps a little bit that I minored in accounting, and I helped with our family farm’s bookkeeping during the summer months.

In the back of mind was always the line from All The President’s Men. It’s when the character Deep Throat tells Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward to “follow the money” repeatedly during the Watergate investigation.

It’s a line that became the mantra for inspiring young and long-time journalists.

Trust me when I say, I’ve written good, bad and even ugly stories about money and greed. The ugliest stories have involved city clerks, church secretaries, high school booster club treasurers who have tried to hide funds or embezzle funds to line their own pocketbooks. Many of those individuals were prosecuted and spent time in jail. Sad stories to write.

Last week I was pleased to write a story about the City of Socorro’s perfect audit award by the Office of the State Auditor. Clean books in government are a tremendous accomplishment and show a commitment to transparency, accountability and excellence in reporting. So, congrats to Finance Director Ruby Lopez and her team at the City of Socorro.

Likewise, I’m impressed by public officials who want to know more about the numbers. A good example is Socorro Electric Co-operative Board Member Ward McCarthy who questioned the more than $100,000 check written to a Santa Fe law firm to pay for legal advice.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Upton Sinclair wrote the novel, The Jungle, which uncovered the horrid and unsafe conditions of the meat packing industry back in 1906. It enraged the public…so much so that the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed that same year.

Yes, Sinclair was not loved by all. He also exposed unsafe working conditions, pollution and corruption of some of the largest coal titans, oil barons and automotive empires.

However, Sinclair was an agent of change. He encouraged good people to look beyond the pillars.

On the flip side, I’m also intrigued by how some folks want to offer their unique money spin to promote their business or others by not applying numbers correctly.

When the Socorro Electric Co-op touted the numbers, 584 individuals of the 745 on-line respondents agreed that Socorro Mayor’s idea to start its own electric municipality was unnecessary and could harm member’s interests.

What happened to the opinions of the other 7,855 members who don’t have an account set up with their email address or who didn’t get the survey to respond. The statement should have been less than 9 percent of the membership responded to the survey... not 85 percent SEC claimed.

We need to face reality. Money clouds the picture for many. Perhaps St. Paul penned it the best: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.”