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140 sats \ 6 replies \ @Undisciplined 6 Aug \ on: No Matter Who Is President, Don't Trust Government Data econ
All of these numbers have their own issues.
My understanding of the BLS jobs numbers isn't primarily that it's a modelling issue, but rather a low response rate problem on their surveys, which is a growing problem across all survey instruments.
Zerohedge had a decent write up on this particular case yesterday. The responders to the survey are not representative, so the initial numbers are consistently biased. As they get more data from other sources, they can begin correcting the initial biased results.
Why can't they account for the bias from the beginning? No idea.
I can understand why the data are on the useless side. I refuse to fill out any surveys or answer any phone polls, at all. They can all F off, as far as I am concerned. I take it that my stance on this matter is fairly common amounts us plebs and serfs. FTS and all of its surveyors!! Another one that I will only give the minimum data is the census!
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Yeah, they get better responses from large companies with HR departments than from small businesses.
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Of course, isn’t it planned that way? It is a good way to drive the small independents out of business. Just require a whole department for answering every survey that happens to float out of DC or the local state and a lot of businesses just give up the ghost. That is a good thing for the state, they can get more bribes and campaign donations from big companies that little ones.
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No, they aren't required to do the surveys and no one is creating an HR department just to handle government surveys.
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No, they just create them for handling all the other government rot that is imposed on them. Small businesses just let everything they cannot avoid slide on off of their backs, like ducks. It would be nice if all companies dissolved their HR departments and went back to the old way of doing things.
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BTW, I just finished reading https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sabotage-thoughts-trumps-bls-director-tirade (the Zerohedge article) and have to agree that the top probably was disconnected from the product of the bureau. The lower level workers may have either been sabotaging or just incompetent, can’t tell for sure. Sure must say though, they look like nice wooden shoes the bereaucrats wear.
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