“Just the facts, ma’am; just the facts,” said Sgt. Joe Friday, the 1950s TV detective from the show “Dragnet.”

With total disregard for facts and verifiable truths in the public forum, politics, mass media and especially the social media these days, let’s cut through the hyperbole and take a cold look at some verifiable facts that should inform people and provide part of the foundation for society’s decision-making process.

On political progressive impulses:

Minimum wage — Initiatives to raise the minimum wage appeared on the ballots in four deep-red states — Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — and passed in all of them. Proposals also passed in San Francisco and Oakland, California. In all, an estimated 609,000 low-wage workers will see raises from these approved increases. In addition, voters in Illinois and counties in Wisconsin approved nonbinding measures that could, if acted on, affect 1.1 million workers.

The Pew Research Center found that 73 percent of Americans favor an increase. In New York State, 77 percent are in favor of an increase.

Pensions — Retirees’ defined benefit pensions pump big bucks into local economies.

The 80 percent of retired New York State public employees who remain in the state economically support their local communities. And retirees who relocate support those economies.

AFT President Randi Weingarten noted recently that “according to the Retirement Institute every dollar in pension benefits results in $1.98 in total economic output, creating jobs and a sustainable income stream.”

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) — According to the Congressional Budget Office, the estimated cost annually of the ACA from March 2010 through 2019 will be $710 billion. The newest projections over the same period are now 20 percent lower at $570 billion. As of late January, 9.5 million people signed up for coverage, with a surge expected before the Feb. 15 deadline.

Even if, as in 2014, 15 percent do not pay their premiums and are off the rolls by the end of 2015, that is still impressive. Of those signing up, 26 percent are in the 18-to-34 age range that insurers say is important to make the system function. The Congressional Budget Office projects that those enrolled in the ACA exchanges will rise to 12 million this year, to 21 million in 2016 and to 25 million for each of three years after that.

The cost of health care has risen at the lowest rate for the last three years due to the ACA’s cost containment.

Despite these positive facts, the House of Representatives voted for the 56th time last month to repeal the Affordable Care Act even as it continues to try to dismantle it piece by piece in the courts.

Medicare — The Medicare Trust Fund was strengthened by the Affordable Care Act and now is solvent through 2028. Nearly 168 million workers contribute to Medicare through payroll taxes, with approximately 53.6 million receiving benefits.

Social Security — Social Security can make full benefit payments through 2035 without modifications. Slightly raising the current cap on taxable income, now at $118,500 for those who pay into the system, would ensure full benefit payments in the years beyond that.

According to a 2012 AARP study, Social Security benefit payments in 2012 supported:

• About $1.4 trillion in economic goods and services output.
• Just over 9.2 million jobs.
• About $774 billion in value added gross domestic product.
• More than $370 billion in salaries, wages, and other compensation.

Social Security is the world’s largest government agency and operates with administrative costs of only 1 percent of total expenditures.

Every state — big and small — feels the positive economic effects of Social Security benefits within its borders.

The recent recession proved that former President George W. Bush’s claim that private accounts guaranteed a better return than Social Security is simply not true. Goldman Sachs estimates that retirement income of younger workers with private accounts would have been reduced by 42 percent!

You often don’t see this information disseminated because it is not emotion-laden and doesn’t serve the anti-progressive agenda of those who would like to dismantle the social safety network built up by labor over the decades.

These are “just the facts.”