I wrote:
I'm open to the idea that a similar argument applies to the 'pacificnew' file. If it would simplify maintenance overall to move its contents into the 'backward' file and remove the 'pacificnew' file, then we should do that.
After thinking about this some more, I believe the argument does not apply to 'pacificnew'. The only function of 'pacificnew' is to create a link US/Pacific-New that is so mistaken and confusing that it is worth keeping separate from 'backward', so that people can easily avoid installing it. Come to think of it, eventually we should remove 'pacificnew' as it causes more trouble than it is worth; see https://bugs.debian.org/815200 for an example. To help get the ball rolling, the attached proposed patch changes the default installation procedure to omit US/Pacific-New, by removing 'pacificnew' from the default BACKWARD macro in 'Makefile'.