Census gets personal (US politics)

[SteamWake]

A funny though crossed my mind.

With todays technology and... well... data mining (yes like google) wouldent it be realatively easy to get a really good educated guess?

Why spend millions on a goverment run census?

Couldent a private consulting firm do it cheaper and faster? Hell I bet they already have the numbers pretty damn close already.

By the way I'm not overlooking the fact that jobs will be created. That is a good thing in that some of that money will make it into the hands of Joe Shlub.

Millions of jobs are being created... by the goverment.

These jobs will dry up after the census, after the summer and the poor bastards will be on the streets again.

The timing of this boost in employment is at the very least benifical to the administration.

This does not go un noticed by me.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

With todays technology and... well... data mining (yes like google) wouldent it be realatively easy to get a really good educated guess?

Why spend millions on a goverment run census?

The state tyranny in Germany is doing it like that. there is a census in Germany this year or next year. The data will not be asked for at the dorr, but directly collected from the database of several offices, like finance authority.

Well, at least the finance authority does not use their data on me to profile my private behaviour, interests, likes and dislikes, and social habits.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Well, at least the finance authority does not use their data on me to profile my private behaviour, interests, likes and dislikes, and social habits.

What on earth makes you think they do not?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

What on earth makes you think they do not?

My social network, my internet preferences and preferred items to buy are not interesting for them, they gain no advantage from it as long as they do not open a profit-interested economy branch by themselves or open investigations against me. As one of the underfunded government offices they also probably lack the technical capacity to do this kind of profiling all by themselves. And finally, they have no legal authority to use my data for this type of processing.

In case of ´Google, all these answers are very different. Google has a business interest to learn about my profile. They are neither underfunded nor limited in their tehcncial capacity to store and process data and use it for profiling, or sell it to companies using it for profiling. And while they do not have a legal call to do all this they are nevertheless legally free to do so. American law protects this type of invasive business. Much of what Us laws allows would be considered as violation of privatesphere in Europe, or illegal data mining. EU experts in the past considered the US to be a developement county regarding data protection legislation, while EU members themseoves, on the other hand, on not few occasions exaggerate it with data protection concerns. The US and Europe are different in this: privatesphere and data protection laws. That'S why there are frequent clashes over data sharing, air passenger data sharing, credit card data sharing, as well as conflicts with Google over things like streetview, etc etc etc.

[mookiemookie]

I wonder if the right wing was so riled up about this back in the 1990 census when Bush I was in office.

Probably not.

[August]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I wonder if the right wing was so riled up about this back in the 1990 census when Bush I was in office.

Probably not.

But you have absolutely no idea either way and are just mud slinging hoping that something will stick.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by August

But you have absolutely no idea either way and are just mud slinging hoping that something will stick.

You know who else counted people? Hitler. That's who.