The Swine Line

…the census is a $14 billion mess. 

You would think that after 200 plus years the federal government could be counted on to perform one of its few constitutionally mandated jobs without making a hash of it.  In 2000, the government was so ill-prepared Congress had to pass an emergency supplemental bill to fund the decennial headcount.  The build up to the 2010 census is no more promising. 

According to the Associated Press, the Census Bureau had awarded a $600 million contract to purchase 500,000 handheld computers to help tabulate Americans. Well, I’m sure you are not surprised to learn that this has turned into yet another government technology debacle, as the contract is now projected to cost $1.3 billion and the Bureau will only purchase 151,000 computers.  Fear not, census counters will still be going door-to-door, but only after sharpening their trusty #2 pencils.