don't trust the census
Doug Henwood
dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Mar 29 10:04:25 PST 2000
I'm a major consumer of Census data, so I find it disturbing when
people talk about not responding. One of the enduring mysteries of
American life is how well the statistical apparatus documents just
how awful things can be - like inequality and poverty, deprivation
and violence - and how open and dedidcated the statisticians are
about their work. When I was doing my State of the USA Atlas, the
British editor was stunned that I could call up Census people and get
unpublished data or talk to them about the strengths and weaknesses
of their figures; she said in Britain, the attitude of the data
collectors was that their work was almost a state secret. So, please,
fill out your Census forms!
Doug
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