Nine years ago, I was in between gigs, so I took a job taking the U.S. Census. My territory was North Central Charleston on the peninsula. It paid okay (I think was $12 an hour ). It was incredibly interesting. People were generally okay save when it came to personal financial stuff.
I didn’t blame them. I didn’t fill it out either. I had to cajole some people to answer the questions, any of them.
One guy threatened me with a gun and told me that what I was doing was unconstitutional. Well, actually, he was wrong.
It is one of the last truly constitutional things the federal government does.
According to U. S. Census website, ‘The official U.S. Census is described in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. It calls for an actual enumeration of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives among the states.”
So it’s legit.
That said, I’ve been speaking with a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the way it is being handled. One friend keeps getting demands for the income she gets from her farmland. The demands have been threatening as of late.
Of course, this might be an issue if she actually owned farmland.
Another friend an expatriate who lives in Seattle writes, “ I think you should do an article about the Census Bureau. First, we get a call because they have not received our form. OK. So, it’s not a priority.
“Next, we keep getting calls about who knows what, a survey. I consider them lucky that they get our form back AT ALL!!! Then, they keep bugging me, and I am damned if I am going to talk to these people who took up my billable AND personal time to fill out the record for posterity.
“ I DON’T fill out how much we earn, because it is simply none of their goddam business. They can go to the IRS is they want to. They have everything else. What is THEIR PROBLEM?? Who is paying these people to annoy me with follow up surveys? Why do we need follow up surveys? I know people who have not even received a survey form, and even so, won’t fill it out!
“They say it’s “illegal” not to return it. I did it. Now, they want more from me. Blood???? Who pays these people?? They are lucky to have what they get because most people aren’t accounted for. Are they going to sue me or put me in jail for not reporting my income???
‘I don’t think so.
“Think about how many people who didn’t even bother to return to the damn form. I filled it out mostly for genealogy records, and not for figuring out socio-economics. In the end, it’s not going to matter, because we’re probably going to have a nuclear disaster in less than 100 years anyway, and no one will be around anyway.”
Well, Deb, I would argue we won’t know. As the graffiti in Myskyns said 35 years ago, “100 years from now… all new people!”
As I said, I was uncomfortable asking that question and would let people slide. This approach was frowned on by my higher ups. I was sent back to more than a few addresses.
Here’s what makes me nervous.
If you thought the census was intrusive before, ACORN is going to be leading the charge to count people.
I offer once again the full scoop on this organization.
Judicial Watch wrote on May 28, “Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the U.S. Census Bureau detailing the substantial involvement of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in the 2010 Census. Included among the 126 pages of documents, obtained by Judicial Watch under threat of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, is ACORN’s original Census partnership application. The document describes 18 different areas of responsibility requested by the community organization, which is under investigation in multiple states for illegal activity during the 2008 election, including voter registration fraud.
The release continued, ‘The documents also list the types of organizations ineligible for partnering with the U.S. Census. They include: “…Hate groups, Law enforcement, anti-immigrant groups, any groups that might make people fearful of participating in the Census…” The release of these Obama Commerce Department documents comes in the wake of an Obama Department of Homeland Security report released in April linking opposition to illegal immigration to “rightwing extremist radicalization.”
“According to its application ACORN also signed up to: “Encourage employees and constituents to complete and mail their questionnaire; identify job candidates and/or distribute and display recruiting materials; appoint a liaison to work with the Census Bureau; provide space for Be Counted sites and/or Questionnaire Assistance Centers; sponsor community events to promote participation in the 2010 Census,” among 18 requested areas of responsibility. The documents also show the decision to add ACORN as a partner occurred in February, long after the January 15th Census partnership application deadline.”
Read the whole thing here.
Talk about a street level bureaucracy.
Remember what the census is for?
Why, it’s to determine the ‘”actual enumeration of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives among the states.”
So let me see if I have this straight. An organization “which is under investigation in multiple states for illegal activity during the 2008 election, including voter registration fraud” is going to be entrusted to count people in order to determine the count of people that will decide representation.
Who could possibly think this is a good idea?
If you have read everything on the links of these pages and can tell me that I’m blowing smoke, so be it.
However, if you are as alarmed as I, then I implore you to send this to everyone on your list. Have them tell the White House( 202-456-1111 – you can no longer e-mail them unless you are willing to fill out a form) that this will not stand.
They work for us. Remember that.
