The Dumb Daniel Webster

The name Daniel Webster is usually thought of in connection with the Daniel Webster of the 19th century, a man considered one of our greatest Senators.  I suspect that the 21st century Daniel Webster, a Congressman from Florida, will be remembered as one of our dumbest Congressmen.  Here are a couple of his quotes. "What really promotes business in this country is liberty, not demand for information."  "This is a program that intrudes on people's lives, just like the Environmental Protection Agency or the bank regulators."

Mr. Webster's comments are in connection with his bill to eliminate the American Community Survey from the census.  The survey has been part of censuses since 1850 and has provided vital information to industry and the government.  The survey is conducted among a random segment of those participating in the census.  It provides information about demographics, habits, languages spoken, occupation, housing and various other categories.  Many branches of the government use it to answer a wide variety of questions, such as the contamination of ground water in rural areas or how much funding for education or public health is need in  the states and communities of this country. Organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, National Association of Home Builders rely on the information for planning smartly. 

Mr. Webster probably is not a businessman.  Hence, his comment that information is really not needed for success in business.  Target stores use the survey to plot where their new stores should be built.  He also has a lot of faith in bankers.  I wonder what he thinks about JPMorgan today.