Thursday, August 12, 2021

"Census data shows the number of White people in the U.S. fell for first time since 1790"/WaPo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/12/census-data-race-ethnicity-neighborhoods/

The WaPO has been coming up with strange headlines lately, in what appears to be an attempt to refocus attention on the article's subject.

In this case, the WaPo is reporting on results from the census, and telling us that the country is increasingly multiracial over time.  No surprise there.  The census, for some reason, separates out Hispanic caucasians from other caucasians.  And so WaPo turns to the word White.  Is that accurate?

Is the census itself accurate, conducted in the midst of the pandemic lockdown rules?

The data release comes amid concerns over the census’s accuracy. The 2020 count was beset by problems, including insufficient funding for preparation, Trump administration attempts to add a citizenship question and block undocumented immigrants from being counted for apportionment, and the coronavirus pandemic, which caused major delays for the survey. Some census-takers said they were pushed by their superiors to bend rules to close out their caseloads more quickly, and experts worried that Hispanics in particular might be reluctant to respond to the survey.

But Thursday’s data release was largely in line with earlier estimates...

Population growth across the United States was at the second-slowest pace in history, 

While the article says the opioid epidemic and fewer births occurring in response to the Great Recession are the reasons for the reduction in "whites," one wonders whether there are other factors at play.  Early lockdown suicides?  Nursing home Covid deaths early on?  Poor quality foods that contribute to driving down life expectancy?  Do the numbers reflect an overall policy that may favor population reduction, especially of the 'less productive' members of society? 


No comments:

Post a Comment