Save Our S.I.P.P.

Here's a story that's likely to slip under the radar of most Americans.

Our Republican led Congress is looking for yet another way to avoid accountability.

They are planning for future long term mismanagement by eliminating the Survey of Income and Program Participation, or SIPP, which is used extensively by analysts inside and outside the government to determine how well, or how poorly, government is performing in critical areas.

As the New York Times reports:

"These (areas) include insuring and educating children, moving people from welfare to work and providing food stamps. Killing the survey would create a devastating void in public information starting in 2007. It would take until 2010, at the earliest, to complete an alternative survey. Losing years of reliable data would make it all too easy to base policy decisions on ideology rather than on evidence. The lack of objective data would also make it very difficult to hold politicians accountable for their decisions.

And who made the recommendation to the House Appropriations Committee to eliminate this survey?

President Bush, Wizard of Wastefulness, Baron of Bafflement, Pooh-pooher of the Poor, Icon of Incompetence.

He knows his legacy is going to bad. He just doesn't want us to know how bad.