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"For decades liberal activists have organized and lobbied for changes in census procedures," observe Mark Mazzetti and Patrick Reilly of the Capital Research Center. "With a friendly face in the White House, the Left is finally positioned to control the 2000 census and its outcome." There's a lot riding on that tally. "The population count will determine how $180 billion in federal money is doled out to states, localities, and individuals," they explain. "If the count is increased, so is the total funding. And, if the count is increased for a particular constituency, that subgroup receives a greater share of the federal dole."

Cui bono? Who exactly stands to gain? "If liberal activists get their way, the 2000 census will correct an alleged undercount of minorities and low-income Americans," say Mazzetti and Reilly. "The Census Bureau will statistically adjust its actual count of sub-groups deemed to be under-represented. The increased count will trigger an immediate flow of taxpayer dollars into social programs and entitlements at the federal, state, and local levels. Low-income and minority residents of large cities will benefit from a flood of government aid, and even businesses and policymakers in urban areas will enjoy a sudden influx of funds."

The Bridge to the 21^st Century is going to be a toll bridge. The era of Big Government As We Know It may have ended, but the era of Big Government As We Will Know It is just getting started. "Big government is the goal, and 'statistical sampling' is the method for attaining it," charge Mazzetti and Reilly. Writing in a recent issue of Foundation Watch, a publication of the Capital Research Center, the two analysts reveal that "grantmaking foundations with an affinity for government programs are bankrolling non-profit advocates of sampling, which also has the strong support of the Clinton Administration and Congressional Democrats."

Mazzetti and Reilly note that "opponents of the Bureau's plan to use sampling in the 2000 census say the method is unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution calls for an 'actual enumeration' of the nation's population every ten years," they explain. "This requires the government to locate and count each person. Since the first census in 1790, the Bureau has faithfully followed the Constitutional requirement for an 'actual enumeration,' sending its representatives to the farthest reaches of the United States. . . . The intended purpose for the census count," Mazzetti and Reilly emphasize, "is to reapportion House of Representatives seats for each state -- not to determine the redistribution of huge sums of money."