The Orwellian American Community Survey

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Overreach.

12:00 AM, Apr 1, 2010 • By DANIEL FREEDMAN

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But the bigger problem with the ACS is the underlying government mentality it exposes. From the Commerce Department thinking it can demand any personal information it wants, to a government representative thinking she can threaten her way into a private home to get those answers -- what today's government and its workers have forgotten is that government is accountable to the people, not the reverse. It is "government of the people, by the people, for the people," in Abraham Lincoln's immortal words. But in today's America, the servants are increasingly acting like the masters.

Daniel Freedman is director of strategy and policy analysis at the Soufan Group.