Last week, MetroTrends bloggers showed how attention-getting headlines sometimes distract us from the evidence that supports sensible policymaking:

• Margaret Simms counteracts scary reports of Social Security’s failure with solid facts about its role in lifting people out of poverty.

• Akiva Liberman argues for keeping crime off the front page, allowing policymakers to make fact-based decisions about sentencing.

• And Marla McDaniel shows how many young African American adults are disconnected from both work and school in the aftermath of the Great Recession – especially in Rust Belt metros like Detroit and Chicago.

We hope you keep coming back to MetroTrends for solid facts and analysis.