Mark Twain, who may be America’s most original writer and first funny man, was the one who popularized the phrase “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

He did not claim to be the originator of the phrase and attributed it the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

I think of it today as I express my frustration with those hard-working politicians in Washington.

One side of the coin speaks of the rejuvenated workforce in America, stating that the unemployment percentage has dropped to a six-year low at 6.1. They say that every job that was lost due to the Great Recession has been recovered. This side says “Cue the song ‘Happy Days are Here Again.’”

Flip the coin and another statistic counters. This side says “Not so fast Kemo Sabe.” They say that the real statistic to observe is the Labor Participation Rate. This rate refers to the percentage of people who could work, but have chosen to stop working or even looking for a job. It is the lowest in almost 40 years. This side prefers the song “Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?”

Regardless of what statistics one would prefer these days, I wonder if the numbers consider our politicians and bureaucrats in Washington as they ponder the United States workforce.

I know, without a doubt, tons of people who are working from “can to can’t” and their noses are getting pretty raw from that old grindstone that turns and turns. They’re not complaining too much, as of yet, but they might be wondering if they are getting their money’s worth as they send a hefty percentage of their earnings to our nation’s capital.

It seems that we have more problems than you can shake a stick at these days. The two sides that I referred to can’t decide on answers to these problems. Sometimes, they can’t even agree that there is a problem.

One side says we don’t spend enough. The other says we must stop spending so much. One side says that the border is more secure than ever.

The other says it’s a sieve and a danger to our security. One side says the world is going to hades in a hand basket. The other side says we can’t be bothered with the rest of the world.

One side says our climate is changing. The other side says “So what?”

I could go on and on about the gulf between what one side thinks against what the other side thinks. It’s not the first time two sides thought differently. I guess that’s why there are two sides to every question.

The only problem these days is that both sides have decided that they would rather play the game of “Let’s Get Elected,” than find solutions to our problems. Solutions found would take work and that seems to be a word no one understands.

Common people all across our country could not run their businesses or their homes the way our nation’s business is being handled. We don’t have the luxury of not solving our problems. If we acted like our ruling class acts, we would be out of business or fired from our jobs. It’s that simple.

It makes me want to holler to both sides, “Do your jobs!”