Schumer presses admin on Economic Indicators site.
Last week, ThinkProgress reported that the Bush administration has taken another step in hiding data from the public by announcing plans to shut down EconomicIndicators.gov because of “budgetary constraints.” The award-winning site compiles economic data for the public to easily access. Today, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) urged Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez to keep the site open:
I was further troubled to learn that after this website has been shut down, members of the public may still receive e-mails with compilations of this type of data for a fee. […] I find it appalling that taxpayers will now have to pay for data that the federal government already collects and compiles.
I find it hard to believe that shutting down this important information portal will result in any significant savings to the Department. Since the fixed costs of website creation have been paid, the operational costs of maintaining such a site must be relatively small.
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26 Responses to “Schumer presses admin on Economic Indicators site.”
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Only state-approved information will be allowed to be leaked to the public, Comrade! President-for-Life Bush demands it.
Why do you hate America?
February 20th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHey, it might just be “privatized”…. You know, like NOAA’s weather data.
No reason that Americans should know the weather for free… No, we must get it through a third party. That third party (of course) gets the weather data, from the government, for free.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:21 pmThat’s so cute. Schumer thinks the administration will have a dialogue and act in the interest of the American people. You’d think he has been bent over enough times to know better.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:25 pmplease sorta would ya kinda maybe, but if your busy i can go away now. sorry to bother you about it in the first place.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:28 pmShhhhh….it’s a secret.
Buck Fush
February 20th, 2008 at 2:29 pmwe’ve been over this… it’s a question of stressing the tubes that make up the digiweb on the internets…
February 20th, 2008 at 2:30 pmThe tubes! The tubes! For the love of God, won’t someone think of the TUBES!
As far as I can tell, the site is only 5 years old. What did people do for such information prior to then?
Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
Once again. Gigi fails to recognize the point. She thinks by muddying the waters and/or lowering the bar of expectations, she can excuse what is a blatant attempt to make embarrassing information more difficult to find for the general public.
Perhaps this kind of behavior is why the President currently sports a public job approval rating of 19%.
http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
February 20th, 2008 at 2:33 pmIt’s letter time…………
February 20th, 2008 at 2:37 pmYes, the operational costs include having Daryll run on a wheel all day…
February 20th, 2008 at 2:40 pmSchumer misses the point–through the looking glass: perception is reality, especially through a glass darkly.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:41 pmBudgetary constraints? That’s rich. These are the same people itching to do a $40-$50 million test of a faulty missile defense system just to show China that they can shoot down satellites too.
Before this website, and Bush for that matter, the US government used to regularly publish and/or release such information.
-AF
February 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pmright gigi, and why should we use horseless carriages? All these new fangled gagets just cause trouble! You and grampa macain come out on the porch and yell at all them young punks to stay offen the lawn by crackie! That’ll learn em.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pmAs far as I can tell, the site is only 5 years old. What did people do for such information prior to then?
Comment by good_golly
Probably the same thing people did before the automobile. They used an inferior, slower, more cumbersome mode. Regression of this type of knowledge is only done when there is something to hide.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pmAs far as I can tell, the site is only 5 years old. What did people do for such information prior to then?
Comment by good_golly
Website-new technology
February 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pmIt’s called using two perfectly good legs to walk forward(progress). That’s why they took it down(conservative) or went backwards. Of course the fact that they had things to hide might have something to do with it too……well of course it did.
This called the “fingers in the ears” domestic policy theory. It’s an adaptation of Condi’s policy of stopping the annual listing of terrorist attacks a few years back when they started spiking. If we can just pretend hard enough then all the bad numbers will go away.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pmAs far as I can tell, the site is only 5 years old. What did people do for such information prior to then?
Comment by good_golly
They printed and distributed pamphlets and information sheets at a much higher cost to the taxpayer- Conservative logic rules!
February 20th, 2008 at 2:47 pmFrom now on lets record all important data on clay tablets in cuniform- after all, we know it works- why mess with a good thing, huh, good golly?
hehe hehe privatizin’ means less rationin’ hehehe
-George W. Botch
February 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pmAs far as I can tell, the site is only 5 years old. What did people do for such information prior to then?
Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
Well there was a period before Ronnie RayGUN that the Government and Media actually supplied relevant information. Since then, you WINGNUTS have gone out of your way to corporatize the media and shut down the FREE PRESS as an independent watchdog! Isn’t it great that Al Gore spearheaded the creation of the public Internet out of Darpanet! Thanks Al Gore, we now have a place to bash the dumb trolls like good_golly up against the rocks of reality! ;)
February 20th, 2008 at 3:03 pmSince the fixed costs of website creation have been paid, the operational costs of maintaining such a site must be relatively small.
Try $8.95 on the low end, to $49.95 per month.
http://www.atfreeweb.com/
But I’m sure they felt great about paying a no-bid contractor $4 million, which didn’t include the monthly fee.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:03 pmThese are the same people itching to do a $40-$50 million test of a faulty missile defense system just to show China that they can shoot down satellites too.
Actually, it’s $60 million, and the debris field is likely to rain on China.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pmComment by belac — February 20, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
it would help the quarry industry…
February 20th, 2008 at 3:16 pmit would help the quarry industry…
Comment by ucsbclassics53 — February 20, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
exactly, not to mention the scrivners and scribes!
February 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pmChuckie, you’re dead to me. Ya hear me, DEAD.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:35 pmBudgetary constraints my arse. Like they wanted to stop releasing M3 data to save $1.5 M. Not that they stop collecting the data, just that they would stop publishing it so the public and world financial institutions can’t tell how fast and furious the Fed is printing increasingly worthless paper.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pmIf they were keeping data on cow flatulence, there’d be no problem.
Oh, wait–they ARE keeping data on cow flatulence.
http://www.newsprism.com
February 20th, 2008 at 4:03 pmRepeat after me:
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United Corporations of America
And to the shareholders for which it stands
One Boardroom, above all else,
inexcusable
with cronyism and injustice for all (individual citizens)
Lather, rinse and regurgitate.
If we actually knew what kinds of financial shenanigans were going on so that this admin could shovel more of our tax funds to their cronies, specific corporations, etc., not to mention just how screwed up the economy really is…there would be a revolt.
The MSM keeps us occupied with shiny objects (Lindsbritt Hilton) and the masses drone on like stooges (nyuk nyuk nyuk).
February 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm