Abstract
In this book, Robert E. Parker discusses four major statistics collected by the US federal government: the unemployment rate, life expectancy, crime rates, and the decennial count of populations. He argues that each are flawed and help maintain the neoliberal status quo. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a strict definition of unemployment (the jobless need to report engaging in specific job-seeking activities to be classified as unemployed), so reliance on the official unemployment rate paints an overly rosy picture of the economy. Policy entrepreneurs point to growth in life expectancies to advocate for increasing the retirement age for Social Security and other pension plans, without acknowledging that this growth is unequal by race and class (and is also driven by reductions in infant mortality). The FBI Uniform Crime Report feeds into a popular preoccupation with “street crime” and does a poor job of enumerating cybercrimes and white-collar crime, which arguably are more costly than street crime. The decennial census undercounts children and Black and Latino residents in the United States, preventing the proper representation of those populations in the House of Representatives and also making it harder for social service agencies to target resources at populations that need them.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.