Are Government Statistics Necessary?; R. Youngblood

THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY ARE GOVERNMENT STATISTICS NECESSARY? by Robert Youngblood I recently received an eye-catching adver tisement from the Government Printing Office for The Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1993-"The Essential Ref erence and Research Resource for people like you!" According to some of my think tank friends, next to national defense, data collection is the best thing the federal gov ernment does., This year's edition features information "keyed to Congressional district," along with "new material on health practices, education attainment, child abuse and ne glect, book purchasing, federal debt, mili tary installations, occupational tenure, use of automated teller machines, high tech exports, . . . details on racial and Hispanic groups-and more." My first thought was: How much does the annual Abstract cost taxpayers? I'm sure the $32 price per copy merely covers the printing costs, not the expense of hiring bureaucrats to collect and collate raw data and having firms spend man-hours to fill out copious forms under penalty of law for non-compliance. Consumers also pay through the loss of goods and services that could have been, but were not, produced Mr. Youngblood is a manufacturer's represen tative living in North Carolina and producer of the radio talk show The Free Market in Colum bia, South Carolina.

because companies diverted resources from output to regulation compliance. As an entrepreneur I gather much data on my customers. It has been a discovery process for me to learn what information is important to me. My research has helped me to answer such questions as: • What mix of equipment does a cus tomer now own? • How often and how much does he order? • How do seasonal factors affect the or dering process? • What is the interest rate on leasing new equipment? • What are the new technology trends? This information does not come without a cost both in money and time, but it allows me to tailor my marketing and advertising and to better serve my customers. Many industries and special interest groups lobby Congress to have information gathered at taxpayer expense. But they should finance the collection of pertinent data themselves rather than use the power of government. For example, the banking in dustry should pay for its own survey of automated teller machines.

The ultimate cost of the Statistical Ab stract to all of us, however, is some loss of freedom when government uses statistics to manage our lives. D 204 THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY MORALITY AND WISDOM by Brian Buckles P resident Andrew Jackson believed that "one man with courage is a majority." Today, I believe that one college graduating class with wisdom can change the world. Like many of my classmates, when I set foot upon this prestigious hilltop four years ago, I was mesmerized. This vibrant city of scholars was a majestic mountaintop when compared with the small, rural high school on the central Illinois prairie from which I graduated with my 32 classmates. Here, at this city set upon a hill, my professors were royalty, and my textbooks offered the keys to true wisdom. Today, however, my perceptions are dif ferent. Of course, my professors have main tained their knighthood. But I have learned that knowledge, by itself, does not lead to wisdom.