The Census?

[tigergem]

I just read that the door to door census people started May 1st. Which leads me to wonder why the heck they have been around these parts six times already before today.

One guy said he wanted to "verify the address", and that was last year! I know I am not mistaken about that because I was house-sitting for a friend who was on vacation at the time, and she returned in September. I was a little leery of that one, and directed him to the mailbox with big black and white numbers at the end of the driveway. As well as her big rock on the other side of the driveway with the big numbers that light up at night. Both of which he had walked past on the way to ask me. Then he started asking personal questions, so I went ahead and let the dog run him off.

I had already heard that these people were supposed to be carrying some kind of black device - - which I later learned was a GPS - - and this guy was carrying a clipboard, and the badge he was wearing was a paper badge in a plastic holder that could have been run off on any home printer...so I didn't feel too bad about the dog accidentally getting away from me.

Lots of other people have been by, some to "help me fill out the form". (I think I can manage that just fine on my own, thanks.) One wanted to know where I was living on April 1st. (Excuse me?)

I know that I missed a couple of other visits because I wasn't home. My neighbors told me they had been around.

And one today to tell me they had not received my form. Well, now... seein' as how you don't know who I am, (do you? I mean we weren't formally introduced...) how the heck would you know whether you received it or not?

I was all for the census at the beginning, but these people are really starting to creep me out.

So then I got to thinking... Every American citizen is issued a Social Security Number. Count them. For the remainder of the "necessary" demographics, cross reference zip codes and income tax refund form information. Good grief. A decent computer could have had this census done already.

This door to door nonsense is for the birds. I mean once or twice, I can see - - but six times? And before they even "started"? How many more times are they going to drop in??? How many times do they want to count me??? What are they really looking for and/or trying to accomplish?

[lrprn]

If all the Census did was ensure you were still alive, then counting SSNs would make sense. However, the Census data collected does a lot more than that.

As an example that is near and dear to all our hearts - the Census data is used is to determine (surprise! ) every state's median family income for bankruptcy filing. Other examples of how Census data is used are:

- States use census data to draw the boundaries of congressional districts. The data also are used to determine whether those boundaries protect the voting rights of minority voters.

- States and many cities use census data to draw boundaries for legislative districts.

- Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion a year in federal and state money is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education and transportation. Much of that money is awarded based on population, or on trends that show future needs.

- Local governments use census data for planning decisions, such as where to build schools or provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads or locate job training centers.

- Private businesses use census data to identify consumer and labor markets. Businesses rely on the data to help decide where to locate their companies and where to target advertising.

- A large number of independent and academic researchers use the Census data to glean all kinds of information and trends about us as a population for research studies.

You can't get all that from just checking a box "Is tigergem alive? Yes"

[StartingOver08]

LOL, yesterday I was showing a vacant house, in foreclosure, and the door bell rings. It's a Census taker asking if any of us lived in the house on April 1st. Then the census taker said we were the 27th house she had checked in that small neighborhood yesterday and the first people that opened the door! In that particular neighborhood there are a lot of foreclosures - so this year the census might take quite a while to complete if they are trying to get responses from all of these vacant properties in our hard hit area of Fl!

[tigergem]

If all the Census did was ensure you were still alive, then counting SSNs would make sense. However, the Census data collected does a lot more than that.

As an example that is near and dear to all our hearts - the Census data is used is to determine (surprise! ) every state's median family income for bankruptcy filing. Other examples of how Census data is used are:

- States use census data to draw the boundaries of congressional districts. The data also are used to determine whether those boundaries protect the voting rights of minority voters.

- States and many cities use census data to draw boundaries for legislative districts.

- Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion a year in federal and state money is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education and transportation. Much of that money is awarded based on population, or on trends that show future needs.

- Local governments use census data for planning decisions, such as where to build schools or provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads or locate job training centers.

- Private businesses use census data to identify consumer and labor markets. Businesses rely on the data to help decide where to locate their companies and where to target advertising.

- A large number of independent and academic researchers use the Census data to glean all kinds of information and trends about us as a population for research studies.

You can't get all that from just checking a box "Is tigergem alive? Yes"

Yeah, and like I said, ALL of that information (every bit of it!) can be gleaned by also cross referencing zip codes and IRS income tax information, with verification of "live persons" from the Social Security Administration.

[ForTheBest]

Below is some info about the decennial census that you may or may not find interesting. I'm spewing it forth because I worked on the 1980, 1990 and 2000 Census, and I'm filled with trivia that's dying to get out of my head. (Besides, I'm not smart enough to be able to reply to most of the threads on this forum!)

Taking the census every 10 years is required by the Constitution, and the whole thing is address based, not name based. The goal is to count every resident who was living at every address on Census Day, April 1. (The reason they ask for names is to try to make sure that people aren't counted twice.)

Census takers didn't start to visit addresses that hadn't returned census forms until May 1, but they were on the streets last year working on earlier phases of the project... physically verifying addresses and updating address lists, etc. in preparation for the actual forms to be mailed out.

In the phase they're in now, if no completed form was received from an address, a census worker is supposed to visit that house three times before they give up. In addition, "quality checkers" are sent out to random addresses to be sure the census taker actually did his/her job and did it correctly.

And while they don't tell you this (except as a last resort), the fact is that refusing to participate in the census is a crime... and the courts can impose a fine of up to $5,000 for failure to respond!

[tigergem]

And while they don't tell you this (except as a last resort), the fact is that refusing to participate in the census is a crime... and the courts can impose a fine of up to $5,000 for failure to respond!

Good that you could find something to chat about here amidst all of our mutual financial ruin FTB :-)

But as to that last bit of information... I can't help but think that somebody in the government must be taking themselves just a little too seriously.

[BigJohn]

Odd the census people never visited me..... like never.

[tigergem]

Odd the census people never visited me..... like never.

Lucky you. Around here they are becoming more pesky than Jehovah's Witnesses. I think they went a little bit too far last week when the "supervisor" for the enumerator sent me an email. (She got my email address???) Apparently they don't like my address. "We need to know where you were sleeping on April 1st." Oh really now? I wouldn't even tell my mother that. Why the hell would I tell you?

[funcritter]

And while they don't tell you this (except as a last resort), the fact is that refusing to participate in the census is a crime... and the courts can impose a fine of up to $5,000 for failure to respond!

Oooops. I guess I can go to jail three times then. I didn't fill out the census the past three times when the census was out.

This last time, they came to my house two times and that was it. I work nights so I missed them both times.

[banca rotta]

I mentioned it here about a month ago:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=47542&page=8

They are going to milk this for all they can. All the jobs that have been created in this obama recovery are census workers.

I will bet that they will be counting for at least another year or two.

We went from an industrial power to a nation of census workers, walmart workers and too big to fail banks or as obama calls them "titans of industry".

[tigergem]

I was talking to a guy who went to work for the census, and he said the pay is less than he got on unemployment, but he had to take the job in order restart his unemployment benefits claim because it ran out.

[WhatMoney]

I mentioned it here about a month ago:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=47542&page=8

All the jobs that have been created in this Obama recovery are census workers.

Well not exactly. From February through May, 2010, about 50% of the jobs have been related to the census. The rest are non-government jobs.

The non-farm payrolls for the last four months have increased by 968,000 new jobs. The government new jobs (most related to the census) have increased by 479,000.

During the last months of the Bush administration, nonfarm payroll jobs were being LOST at the rate of 750,000 jobs/month, that's -750,000 in Jan 2009 vs +431,000 in May 2010. There's no doubt new jobs will decline after the census is completed. But to claim all new jobs for the last 14 months are census jobs is just silly.


The chart the Obama haters REALLY hate.

[banca rotta]

The chart the Obama haters REALLY hate.

Whatmoney we are not talking about Bush. He's gone (sadly he's not forgotten).

Obama and his state run media are the ones playing up the economy.

You and everyone else like you have got to stop with your partisan crap already! It's getting very old.

Bush and Obama both suck! D & R's both suck!

I still cannot even believe anyone can follow current events and still worship the whole d & r thing.

"Oh obama, Hillary is so great. They support the little guy and btw bush sucks!"

or

"Oh I vote republican since they cut taxes and support smaller govt and kick terrorists butts". Please already! I'm dying here thinking of all you suckers still buying this.

The d & r followers truly get what they deserve.

[WhatMoney]

LOL - I'm pleased that you agree with my chart and statistics, Banca.

All your bluster about the D's & R's has not much to do with the actual employment numbers.

So what is your ideal government? Are you one of those crazy right-wing Libertarian party supporters that want to disable all government and return to the wild west? Anarchy is good? Libertarians would turn the country into a fascist dictatorship faster than you could ever imagine. Or is it a return to the Confederacy? Every state on it's own. They could set up toll charges for crossing state lines. That's what happens to extremist groups whenever they get power. The cure is worse than the disease.

How is this "alternative" government you so desire going to pay the debt?

[banca rotta]

LOL -

So what is your ideal government?

One that's "Of the people, by the people, for the people" and puts the US constitution first.

I also want to either audit or abolish the fed. This way we will have to raise taxes for every program and war we fight instead of creating debt and inflation. If we raise taxes (which btw I am not advocating) then that will wake up the masses.

The good news is we will see this once the financial house of cards collapses and that's coming real soon.

It will by a good thing to actually see more US citizens vote for their leaders then vote for their favorite American Idol.