"I think that looking to the Postal Service as a replacement for the Census Bureau and census takers is an effort to find a silver bullet that just doesn't exist,"
"The cost savings that Secretary Lutnick believes might be there for the taking simply are based on wildly inaccurate numbers and assumptions."
"The watchdog agency's report pointed to higher average wage rates for mail carriers compared to those for temporary census workers, as well as the large number of hours needed to follow up with households that don't respond to the census on their own."
The administration proposes that USPS postal workers perform door-to-door census counting as a cost-saving measure. Experts describe the proposal as a search for a nonexistent silver bullet and say the projected savings rely on inaccurate numbers and assumptions. The 2020 decennial census cost $13.7 billion, about one-third of the $40 billion figure cited as potential savings. A 2011 GAO analysis concluded that using mail carriers to interview households would not be cost-effective, citing higher wage rates for carriers and extensive hours required to follow up with nonresponding households. A satirical alternative suggests a "chicken wing index" coupon incentive.
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