Oh Horrors! Asking About Citizenship On The Census

When President Donald Trump suggested that the Census ask about citizenship in 2020, many liberals gasped. The reaction is ridiculous as the Federal Government has been asking all sorts of very personal questions for many years....

The questionnaires  [PDF] include very specific information about race, ethnicity, birth place and education of parents. Does the mother use cigarettes? What payment was used for obstetric services: Medicaid, private insurance, self pay?...

Here is a just-released data brief for 2017.

Births in the United States, 2017,  NCHS Data Brief No. 318, August 2018. [PDF]

This 2017 data brief fails to "brief" on some unpleasant data. For example, Medicaid funded 43% of deliveries it states. In the complete 2016 birth data report, one finds that 66% of black births and 60% of Hispanic births were Medicaid funded. Medicaid obstetric services are provided to women regardless of immigration status....

Asking about citizenship on the census makes perfect sense. Congressional districts are apportioned on the basis of residents. It would make much more sense to apportion them on the number of citizens.