Can the Statistical Abstract be Saved?

When I attended the annual Nebraska State Data Center Conference  at UNO last week we were given a DVD copy of the 2011 Statistical Abstract of the United States, with the comment that it’s a $150 value and the 2012 edition will be the last one produced.    Robert Samuelson pleads “don’t kill America’s data book”  in his  column in the August 21 Washington Post.  Samuelson notes that the Census Bureau’s  2012 budget would eliminate the Statistical Compendia Branch, which produces the Statistical Abstract, County and City Data Book, and other publications.  The cut would eliminate 24 jobs and save $2.9 million dollars.   Samuelson suggests that the Census Bureau could seek a private funder for the Abstract like the Gates or McArthur foundations.   I’m not optomistic.