KOCH: Number wrong

Evan Koch, chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats, is granted frequent opinion columns in the Coeur d’Alene Press. Many of these opinions are factually challenged, but I guess that’s politics. His opinion on May 3 however, included a real doozy.

The subject was the Workers Memorial Day remembrance held at Coeur d’Alene City Park on April 28. I read Mr. Koch’s account of the service, which was fine. Then I read his statement, “In 2021 there were 3.6 worker deaths per 100 full-time equivalent workers, a 3.6% incidence.” He went on to state how huge that was compared to motor vehicle deaths. My immediate thought was that can’t be right.

Using Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, worker deaths in 2021 were 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. So, Mr. Koch was off by more than a thousand-fold in his statement.

DENNIS RUSSELL

Dalton Gardens

Editor’s note: The inaccurate number was published by the CDC and carried over by the columnist. The column has been updated online with the correct information.