During the past half dozen years, we have witnessed what is apparently news to many: a call for ?evidence-based policy-making? most notably initiated by congressional attention in the form of 2016 legislation and subsequent actions. The need for evidence-informed decisions is hardly news to those who have chosen careers in the Federal statistical agencies; I would venture that is the reason many of us chose this path.
But even as this much-appreciated ?new? focus has become popular, so too has a view that ?alternative facts? may be equally compelling as a basis for public and private conclusions and choices. [Read the full article]
