Independence Day in Troubled Times

Independence Day in Troubled Times

There is no doubt that we live in increasingly troubled times. The news is an endless stream of negativity:  crime, homelessness, drug abuse, border issues, gender politics, inflation, interest rates, and international tensions. Many of us, on both sides of the aisle,...
In Memoriam-Kenneth E. Needham

In Memoriam-Kenneth E. Needham

It is with great sadness that we report the recent passing of Ken Needham. After receiving an undergraduate and graduate degree, Ken went on to serve the Army in Military Intelligence at the Pentagon before becoming one of the founding partners of Urban Decision...

Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall

In the traditional realm of parametric statistics, we were taught that the correct approach to building a statistical model of any sort was to follow the scientific method. You know, formulate a set of hypotheses about what independent factors might contribute to the...

The Perils of Projections

One of the great economists of the last century, John Kenneth Galbraith, once quipped that “the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” The same can be said for pretty much anything that we foolishly insist on forecasting –...

The Politicization of Census Data

Prior to the 2020 census, there was considerable debate about the politicization of the census through the proposed question on immigration status. The ultimate decision by the Supreme Court to disallow the question was largely because of the concern that the accuracy...