Avoiding the Great Depression: New Data for Barack Obama
Barack Obama starts the fight against a threatening great depression - but many of the crucial statistics are to old to be used. Now the US Census Bureau intends to survey the nation’s spending habits, by this delivering fresh data to the President. In January 2009, U.S. Census Bureau field representatives will collect information about how much Americans spend for groceries, clothing, transportation, housing, health care and other items from a sample of households across the country.
The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey program consists of two parts:
* The Interview Survey - Throughout the year, about 43,000 households will be interviewed once every three months over five calendar quarters to obtain data on relatively large expenditures and also for those expenditures that occur on a regular basis (such as rent and utilities).
* The Diary Survey - During the year, another 9,200 households will keep two consecutive one-week diaries of smaller, more frequent purchases that may be difficult for respondents to recall later (such as a fast-food purchase at a drive-through window, a soda or candy bar from a vending machine, or a carton of eggs from the supermarket).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics then calculates and publishes integrated data from the two surveys — providing a snapshot of our nation’s economy and spending habits. Government economists use the survey results to update a “market basket” of goods and services for the Consumer Price Index, our nation’s most widely used measure of inflation.
Before the CE interviews begin, households will receive a letter from the Census Bureau director informing them of their selection to participate in the survey. Census Bureau field representatives will visit these households to conduct the interview. The field representative must display an official photo identification before proceeding with the interview. Federal law ensures survey respondents’ personal information and answers are kept confidential.
The average annual amount spend for housing for the United States is $16,684, which means a percentage of total expenditures as high as 33.9.
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