COMMENTS ON SESSION 604: CREATING AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF DATA AND STATISTICS ON HOUSEHOLD INCOME, CONSUMPTION AND WEALTH

In 2024, the Committee on National Statistics at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report recommending that the federal statistical system take steps to produce integrated data on income, consumption, and wealth. These data, the report argued, were essential to guiding policymakers in addressing the Nation’s most serious economic and social problems. The recommendations asked federal statistical agencies to expend considerable resources to realize this important goal and included specific milestones for making progress over a 5-year period One year later, session 604 at the 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Nashville, TN offered an overview of the recommendations, reviewed progress made over the past year and looked realistically at the capacity of the federal statistical system for implementing the proposed changes given recent cuts in staffing and budgets. While some progress has been made, especially at the U.S. Census Bureau, in the current budget environment, to make progress will require significant effort from the academic and non-profit communities. Fortunately, these groups are already making important contributions and, with proper support from the agencies, could provide much needed leadership and resources to help create a more integrated system of data on income, consumption, and wealth.