Counting The Numbers
"The Census Bureau's program to develop handheld computers to collect data on Americans during the 2010 census is in "serious trouble," and the bureau should immediately develop plans to use paper forms, according to an analysis conducted by a government research firm and presented to top bureau managers in late 2007."
That's according to a good story by GovernmentExecutive reporter Allan Holmes, who scored a very damning memo spelling out the troubles.
It seems the bureau intends to buy least 500,000 handheld devices, under a $600 million contract awarded to the Harris Corp., to collect information about people who do not mail in census forms. The story says that an official with Mitre Corp., which is reviewing the program, "said the agency has experienced so many delays and cost overruns in developing the handhelds that it should immediately develop a contingency plan to use paper forms."
So, how much will the paper collection effort cost? The story said the agency has budgeted $12 billion for the 2010 census effort.
By Robert O'Harrow |
January 11, 2008; 7:02 AM ET
census
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Posted by: JerseyBoy | January 11, 2008 09:47 AM
TWELVE BILLION!!!?
TWELVE - BILLION ??!!
I'm sorry the 'B' word still makes my eyes go googly, but can anyone actually justify that amount of money, present an itemized estimate, explain WHY NOTHING THAT COMES OUT OF D.C. CAN COST LESS THAN A BILLION?
Printing, collecting, and processing paper forms sure as hell cannot cost even one of those billion.
Posted by: LALA | January 12, 2008 04:04 AM
Although the census is 'traditionally' taken on a 10 year basis, I believe it would be a good idea to take advantage of the polling offices already set-up (or they could have a larger venue to accommodate larger numbers of people) for the 2008 Presidential vote to distribute/complete the census forms. Law & Business Interns/volunteers, etc. could be posted to distribute/collect the data. The would give the new President elect current statistics, and help frame his/her agenda while in office, and enable the new President elect to better understand the problems the American public is facing (e.g., family size, income, etc.). This would also be a good way to 'get the people to the poles' and place their vote, as well as encourage others (e.g., immigrants) to be counted in the new census. It 'would' require good coordination, but it would off-set some of the high-costs associated with taking the census. There's 'plenty' of time available to print the forms from now until the election.
Posted by: Mary Bukhari | January 16, 2008 03:18 PM
Remember when the Census Bureau was the bleading edge for information processing? Hollerith punch cards launched IBM ...
Posted by: Johnny E | January 20, 2008 11:49 AM
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Congress needs to look at this, and fast. It's 2008 already.