Census questions

Great Debates
1

I just received my census form in the mail… and a couple of questions popped in my head. First of all, I have no problem with being counted… but the rest of this form seems beyond the scope of what the constitution mandates… why do I need to fill out my total income, including interest and dividends? my employer? monthy rent? All of these questions want me to answer NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! Yeah, yeah… statistical purposes… but this is bullshit if you ask me. I think it’s legitimate that the government wants to find out where the population is and where it’s moving, but why am I obligated to answer all of this personal information?

Which leads me to the second question… what if I don’t answer all of this stuff? Will they hunt me down to get the info? What’s the penalty for not filling one out at all? Or filling out one only partially?

Am I the only one out there that this thing bugs?

Thanks,
Max

2

Just got mine too. Those questions bug me too, but just a little. They’re there for the reasons you mentioned, and are protected by law. Just fill it out and forget it. There are other things far more important to rebel against, in my humble opinion.
Peace,
mangeorge

I only know two things;
I know what I need to know
And
I know what I want to know
Mangeorge, 2000

3

I worked for the census last go round and the training sessions encouraged the field reps to stress the fact that if a refusal was given, there are 5 additional contacts made that become more insistent with each escalation. I’m not sure what comes after the last contact, but they try to push the fact that it’s easier to answer the questions than it is to get rid of nosey bureacrats.

4

:::feeling left out:::

I have the form I received in front of me:
OMB No. 0607-0856: Approval Expires 21/31/2000
Form D-1

Let’s see…:::mumble mumble mumble:::

Number of people living here
Who to count
Who not to count

How to count

Do I own, rent or am I a squatter?

My name
My phone number
My sex
My age
My birth date
Am I Spanish/Hispanic/Latino? :::quick check:::
My race

Repeat for everyone else in the home up to person six, thereafter list names for persons seven through twelve.

:::mumble mumble mumble:::

:::turning form over:::

:::holding form up to the light:::

Darn!
I don’t get to tell them to “shove it” on income and income source questions! They didn’t ask that on this form.

Definitely a form designed for California. Horribly basic instructions, cute little arrows pointing here and there, and an 800 number to obtain help if you can’t figure things out yourself. Sheesh!!!
They emphasize that the phone call is toll-free.

Are you sure you aren’t being investigated or something? Get the tax forms mixed in with the census goodies?

Oh well, we got the dumb form this decade…maybe I’ll get to stand on principle next time.

–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
“If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.”

5

I got the short form, too! All they wanted was really basic info…names, birthdates, race…

I’m a little put off. Who decides these things? I wanted the long form.

I’m just going to ignore you now, because having a discussion with you is like herding cats - Rousseau

6

TITLE 13 - CENSUS

CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS

Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

-STATUTE-

  (a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.

  (b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.

  (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.

As for what the government might do to track you down, they will send workers to your home to obtain the information if they don’t receive the form or the form is incomplete. I don’t know how strenuously the gov’t pursues people criminally for failing to complete the census. Of course, the criminal sanctions aren’t the important reason for completing the form; the appropriations, apportionment, etc. is.

7

{{{TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES}}}—Otto

Make one little joke and they head for the House of Reps web site to drag out Title and Chapter on ya! :wink:

–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
“If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.”

8

In 1970 I got the long form and was a good little doobee.

In 1980, I simply put “2 adults, no children”, and they came to the house. When they asked questions, I told them I wasn’t qualified to answer those questions (or “I’m not sure of the answer to that question”). They made some assumptions, but left.

In 1990, I answered “2 adults, 2 children” and never heard another word. I suspect they found the needed information at town hall.

Now, for 2000.

On a different note: Now that I have a daughter in college in another state, why is she counted at her college and not at her home?

9

I know I should try to forget it, Mangeorge… for some reason though, it just bugs me. Especially the financial questions. If these questions are so important, EVERYONE should have to fill them out. I feel like I’m filling out a marketing survey or something… and those things I just throw in the trash. $100 doesn’t seem like a lot of money for them to chase me down.

The D-1 form is the short form… Some of us lucky stiffs get the D-2 form.

Here’s another question… what if I call the census bureau and ask for another form? Are the odds that I will get a short form, or do they have in their record books who gets the short and long form?

“Monthly rent”? BITE ME! and “does it include any meals”? You’ve got to be kidding…

(I also know that in the time I’ve wasted bitching about this, I could have filled out the thing… but it’s the principle dammit!)

10

Back to the OP, I got the long form in 1990. I listed the names sexes and ages of everyone in the house. Under race, I checked OTHER and wrote in Celtic, then I put N.O.Y.B on all the other questions (income, occupation, house size, etc.). I never heard from them again. If I get the long form this year I’ll do the same, but I’ll check MIXED this time for my race. I’m tempted to write in “Indy”, but I doubt they’ll find that funny. Any suggestions?

11

I happen to work in the news business and all the time hear people griping that the government does invest enough money in our area or doesn’t provide the programs we need in our area, etc. The thing is, one in six people get the long form. The information collected from those is used to determine government spending for the next 10 years. Should you refuse to fill it out completely, the only thing you will have accomplished is to hurt your community by not giving the government bean counters the information they will use to determine where they’re going to spend money.
Look at it this way. I don’t know if you are a Generation X’er or not, but I often hear young folks say the government pays too much attention to old folks (social security, medicare, etc.) but does nothing for the young (day care, job training, etc.). You know why? Because we do not vote and do not participate in government. This is one way you have to ensure that your government will do something for your income group, your race, your age group, blah, blah, blah, instead of spending the money on someone else who may not need it nearly as much. Your answers will help guide government spending for the next decade, so it is in your self-interest to participate. The government is going to keep taking our money and they’re going to keep spending it. It is to your benefit to give them a reason to spend it on programs which will ultimately benefit you. They’re not going to send the money back. They’re going to keep it and spend it on the folks who fill out the forms.
If you’re still not convinced, email me and I’ll let you put MY information on your form. That way you can protect your privacy and I can double my chances that the government will work for me instead of you.

12

Race: Human
Yes that’s what I’ve written.

-Melin

Voted Best Moderator (Emeritus)

13

Someone told me that there is no question if you are handicapped or not and certainly no box for TTY next to your phone number. Well, I have to see what the form says but why would they not mention those?

14

Wait a minute… how could whether or not I rent and how much I pay for rent, have anything to do with what government money comes back to my community? Maybe I’m missing something here, but if this IS where the spend comes from, then wouldn’t it be in my best interest (and my community’s best interest) to reduce my income and increase my expenses, thereby showing a strapped population base in need of more funding? Or is it the case that the wealthy communities get back what they give? I’m confused.

And I’d be happy to send you my form. Like I said… I’ll trade anyone out there for a short one.

15

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Max:
Wait a minute… how could whether or not I rent and how much I pay for rent, have anything to do with what government money comes back to my community? Maybe I’m missing something here, but if this IS where the spend comes from, then wouldn’t it be in my best interest (and my community’s best interest) to reduce my income and increase my expenses, thereby showing a strapped population base in need of more funding? Or is it the case that the wealthy communities get back what they give? I’m confused.[/QUOTE

OK, how’s this. You fill out your form saying you make a buck-ninety-eight a year, and you convince several other folks in your neighborhood to do the same as a way to protest the Census. Next year, the federal govt starts heavily promoting housing subsidies for people in your area and decides to build a new low-income housing develop in your neighborhood, since all the folks in your area are so poor (or at least that’s what you said on the census form). Congratulations! You helped build the next Cabrini Green next door, thereby increasing crime rates and drug use in your neighborhood. Boy, don’t your neighbors love you!

Okay, I am a sarcastic jerk and that is an extreme example, but it illustrates the point I am trying to make. Lying on the census form or not filling it out only hurts you in the long run. Saying that you’re poor won’t necessarily bring more money to your neighborhood or state. They don’t hand out greenbacks in buckets. They spend it through programs generally designed with very narrow purposes in mind. The bean-counters in DC don’t know anything about where you live and really couldn’t care less. But when they’re told to find a place of such-and-such demographics for such-and-such program, they rely on the results of the census.

Now, not all of the questions will have a direct effect on spending in your neighborhood or state, but they could affect public policy. If everybody in your area started protesting the census by saying they didn’t have a television in their household, then maybe the FCC would decide you didn’t need that next great broadcast station someone sought a license for. As a result, you’ve knocked out a new employer in your area.

The point is, the census does have an impact, people.

Here in Kentucky, the census really screwed up back in 1990. Thousands of folks didn’t get forms or a visit and a bunch more just didn’t send them back. Estimates are that they missed about 10 percent of our population. As a result, we lost a congressional district. But nobody griped about the inaccurate count until it was too late, after we had already lost a seat in Congress and were cut out of probably millions in dollars because our population count was too low.

16

I put that on my marriage license application and they wouldn’t accept it. So they put “REFUSE”.

I shoulda just gone with the flow.

Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!

17

Actually, the one ‘vital’ statistic they DON’T need is your name. I refused to put mine down.

Other than that, I don’t mind the questions, because the government at least TRIES to do things right based on the information they gather. Okay, I admit I’m with Melin on the ‘race’ question (I said Human, too), but if you’re lucky enough to answer the long form, help them out, would ya? It makes it easier to do all those things Libertarian hates them doing in the first place. :wink:

18

I agree with both of these observations. :wink:

Here’s a question, smart guy. If they need this income information, why do they need my name? Or my telephone number? Or my employer? Or what time of the day I leave my house in the morning and how long it takes me to get to work? Or how much I pay for water and sewage?

Your example of how Kentucky screwed itself is a valid one, but it goes back to my point… I don’t mind being counted. I mind these other questions.

Sorry… for some reason, this census form chaps my ass.

19

Get Chapstick! :wink:

20

Look, I don’t know everything or why they would need it. But here is speculation.

NAME AND PHONE NUMBER: Perhaps to contact you in case your handwriting is such a scrawl they need your help deciphering it.

EMPLOYER: Perhaps to determine the composition of the workforce. Or to contact you at work.

MORNING DRIVE: Could help determine traffic patterns to see whether you need a six-lane highway between your house and the workplace.

WATER & SEWAGE: I can think of several ways this would be helpful. It could help compute standard-of-living by seeing about how much you have left after the necessities are taken care, whether your utility is perhaps charging an encumbersome amount and needs bond relief, or whether you even have these necessities (many in my area don’t).

Like I said, I don’t know all the details. Maybe some census worker (or Cecil) could give me a hand (please!). But basically, I believe completing the long form is an obligation we should try to honor. I mean, in your life, if the current one in six ratio holds up, you’ll probably be confronted with it no more than one or two times.

Now, I know some militia types believe the census is used to spy on the public. I don’t. All of this information is available to the nasties in government anyway, if they’re truly out to get you. The NSA supercomputers are capable of monitoring every domestic and out-of-country-bound phone call, fax, email and other means of digital and analog communication every minute of every day (which means your rebellion against the census has already been detected and the black helicopters are hovering above your house right this minute). If you took part in any remotely radical political movements back in school, the FBI already has a file on you (I know! I was taped attending an Earth First! rally back in the day!). And let’s not forget all the nasty information the IRS, Social Security Administration and all those health-care regulators already have on you. No, I don’t trust the government in everything it does, but the census is perhaps the most benign function of our government which can only help us if we participate and hurt us if we don’t.

That’s my rant for this evening. Hope you enjoyed it. :slight_smile: