GOP Census Bill Would Eliminate America's Economic Indicators

[octoberlib]

The bill, introduced last week by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), would bar the U.S. Census Bureau from conducting nearly all surveys except for a decennial population count. Such a step that would end the government's ability to provide reliable estimates of the employment rate. Indeed, the government would not be able to produce any of the major economic indices that move markets every month, said multiple statistics experts, who were aghast at the proposal.

"They simply wouldn't exist. We won't have an unemployment rate," said Ken Prewitt, the former director of the U.S. Census who is now a professor of public affairs at Columbia University.

"I don't know how the market reacts if there is suddenly no unemployment rate at the start of the month," Prewitt said. "How does the market react if we don't have a GDP [gross domestic product]?"

"Do they understand that these data that the Census Bureau collects are fundamental to everything else that's done?" asked Maurine Haver, founder of business research firm Haver Analytics and a past president of the National Association for Business Economics. "They think the country doesn't need to know how many people are unemployed, either?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/gop-census-bill_n_3188043.html?1367407882

[tularetom]

1. If God wanted us to know the unemployment rate it would be in the bible

And that's all we need to know.

[GP6971]

2. Who needs

Inconvenient facts? Just proves they don't want to address the issues of the 99%

[DreamGypsy]

3. Blithering idiots.

Electing nematodes to congress would be more productive.

[defacto7]

4. Don't look for any rational reason for this bill.

Look for something manipulative.

[winter is coming]

5. Census data is used to help make decisions about allocating Federal aid.

No aid, no need for the stats.

[defacto7]

6. Grrrr!

[msongs]

7. a lot of that stuff is invasive...and they come back every year demanding even more nt

[Ikonoklast]

8. Won't ever leave committee.

Duncan wasting taxpayer dollars on meaningless proposals that are DOA.