Native Texan III
05-20-2012, 10:36 AM
THE American Community Survey may be the most important government function you’ve never heard of, and it’s in trouble.
The survey’s findings help determine how over $400 billion in government funds (http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2010/07/26-acs-reamer) is distributed each year
But last week, the Republican-led House voted to eliminate the survey altogether, on the grounds that the government should not be butting its nose into Americans’ homes.
“We’re spending $70 per person to fill this out. That’s just not cost effective,” he continued, “especially since in the end this is not a scientific survey. It’s a random survey.”
In fact, the randomness of the survey is precisely what makes the survey scientific, statistical experts say.
Their recent vote aside, members of Congress do seem to realize how useful these numbers are. After all, they use the data themselves.
A number of questions on the survey have been added because Congress specifically demanded their inclusion.
“Knowing what’s happening in our economy is so desperately important to keeping our economy functioning smoothly,” said Maurine Haver, the chief executive and founder of Haver Analytics, a data analysis company. “The reason the Great Recession did not become another Great Depression is because of the more current economic data we have today that we didn’t have in the 1930s.”
Other private companies and industry groups — including the United States Chamber of Commerce (http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USCENSUS/2012/03/05/file_attachments/97968/U.S.ChamberandICSCLetters.pdf), the National Retail Federation (https://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Newsletter&op=viewlive&sp_id=483&id=51) and the National Association of Home Builders (http://www.prb.org/pdf11/acs-briefing-crowe.pdf) — are up in arms.
Mr. Webster says that businesses should instead be thanking House Republicans for reducing the government’s reach.
“What really promotes business in this country is liberty,” he said, “not demand for information.” :eek:
Mr. Webster and other critics have gone so far as to say the American Community Survey is unconstitutional. :eek: Of course, the basic decennial census is specifically enumerated in the United States Constitution, and courts have ruled (http://www.gao.gov/decisions/other/289852.htm) that this longer form of the census survey is constitutional as well.
If the American Community Survey were made voluntary, experts say, the census would have to spend significantly more money (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2011/2011_Navarro_01.pdf) on follow-up phone calls and in-person visits to get enough households to answer.
“If it’s voluntary, then we’ll just get bad data,” said Kenneth Prewitt (http://sipa.columbia.edu/academics/directory/kp2058-fac.html), a former director of the census who is now at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “That means businesses will make bad decisions, and government will make bad decisions, which means we won’t even know where we actually are wasting our tax dollars.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sunday-review/the-debate-over-the-american-community-survey.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The survey’s findings help determine how over $400 billion in government funds (http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2010/07/26-acs-reamer) is distributed each year
But last week, the Republican-led House voted to eliminate the survey altogether, on the grounds that the government should not be butting its nose into Americans’ homes.
“We’re spending $70 per person to fill this out. That’s just not cost effective,” he continued, “especially since in the end this is not a scientific survey. It’s a random survey.”
In fact, the randomness of the survey is precisely what makes the survey scientific, statistical experts say.
Their recent vote aside, members of Congress do seem to realize how useful these numbers are. After all, they use the data themselves.
A number of questions on the survey have been added because Congress specifically demanded their inclusion.
“Knowing what’s happening in our economy is so desperately important to keeping our economy functioning smoothly,” said Maurine Haver, the chief executive and founder of Haver Analytics, a data analysis company. “The reason the Great Recession did not become another Great Depression is because of the more current economic data we have today that we didn’t have in the 1930s.”
Other private companies and industry groups — including the United States Chamber of Commerce (http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USCENSUS/2012/03/05/file_attachments/97968/U.S.ChamberandICSCLetters.pdf), the National Retail Federation (https://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Newsletter&op=viewlive&sp_id=483&id=51) and the National Association of Home Builders (http://www.prb.org/pdf11/acs-briefing-crowe.pdf) — are up in arms.
Mr. Webster says that businesses should instead be thanking House Republicans for reducing the government’s reach.
“What really promotes business in this country is liberty,” he said, “not demand for information.” :eek:
Mr. Webster and other critics have gone so far as to say the American Community Survey is unconstitutional. :eek: Of course, the basic decennial census is specifically enumerated in the United States Constitution, and courts have ruled (http://www.gao.gov/decisions/other/289852.htm) that this longer form of the census survey is constitutional as well.
If the American Community Survey were made voluntary, experts say, the census would have to spend significantly more money (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2011/2011_Navarro_01.pdf) on follow-up phone calls and in-person visits to get enough households to answer.
“If it’s voluntary, then we’ll just get bad data,” said Kenneth Prewitt (http://sipa.columbia.edu/academics/directory/kp2058-fac.html), a former director of the census who is now at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “That means businesses will make bad decisions, and government will make bad decisions, which means we won’t even know where we actually are wasting our tax dollars.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sunday-review/the-debate-over-the-american-community-survey.html?partner=rss&emc=rss