Data shouldn’t be political (Policy Matters)

This week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual American Community Survey data — one of the clearest mirrors we have to see how Americans are really doing. For most, it will pass quietly; for some leaders, it will be dismissed outright. However, the truth is plain: without trustworthy data, we are steering in the dark.

Numbers are not abstractions. They tell us whether wages keep pace with costs, whether families can find safe and affordable housing, and whether too many children are growing up in poverty. They determine how many teachers stand in our classrooms, whether hospitals have the staff to save lives, and whether our roads are repaired.

Nowhere is this more vital than in the hands of those shaping policy in our capitols, where facts — or their absence — ripple into every community.

That is why we rely on institutions like the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and federal health agencies. Their role is not to spin stories, but to provide facts that are non-partisan, transparent, and rigorous. When that foundation is shaken, the policies built upon it cannot stand.

At the Oklahoma Policy Institute, we turn those facts into focus. Data reveals when families are spending half their paycheck on rent, when children can’t access health care, or when the criminal justice system drifts far from the communities it serves. Evidence like this gives us the leverage to demand smarter, fairer, and more humane policies — ones that provide every Oklahoman with a fair chance.

For decades, administrations of both parties have recognized that trustworthy data is the backbone of effective governance. The current presidential administration has broken from that tradition, taking a dangerous step backwards. The current administration has normalized disappearing data from public view and even firing public officials whose findings conflicted with the political agenda. Americans cannot stay silent in the face of this assault on evidence and accountability.

Because here’s the bottom line: we cannot fix what we do not measure. If data is silenced, twisted, or dismissed, we all lose. Our communities will continue to struggle while leaders argue over ideology instead of grappling with reality.

Public data is not about Washington, D.C.; it’s about us — our neighbors, our paychecks, our schools, our future. Stronger communities rely on a foundation of solid facts. And facts, when defended, give us the chance to build the Oklahoma we all deserve.