Will you answer all of the 2010 U.S. Census questions?
June 30, 2009 18 Comments
My husband and I have discussed what we will do about filling out the Census form. And, if my on line research is any indication, many other Americans are having similar discussions. There are others who do not trust those collecting the information and how the information will be used. There seems to be different information as to the fines that could occur if citizens do not completely fill out the form or if it filled out inaccurately.
My post is not to encourage or discourage American citizens to complete the 2010 Census and American Community Service form. I suggest that you become informed about the questions that will be asked, how that information will or will not be used, and if you are willing or able to pay the fine if you decide to not answer any or all of the questions.
Here is some information for you yet there is much more out there if you wish to take the time to read it.
Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Steve King have been speaking about the 2010 Census partnership with Acorn.
Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota said earlier this month that she wouldn’t answer certain questions on the 2010 Census form partially because of concerns about Acorn. A spokeswoman for Ms. Bachmann didn’t make her available for comment.
Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa) tried unsuccessfully to attach an amendment to a must-pass appropriations bill to forbid any Acorn involvement in the 2010 Census. The outspoken Mr. King is perhaps the most vocal critic of the organization, introducing a host of bills that would limit Acorn’s affairs in federal governance.
The actual questions and reason for the questions – “meeting Federal Needs” and “Community Benefits” are listed here.
This is from 2000 but very interesting. I share a portion of the article U.S. Census questions put your privacy at risk by Robyn Blumner. I found myself thinking of all the advances in technology in the past ten years. It is much easier for Big Brother to keep track of us….
Then there’s the privacy issue. The Census Bureau promises up and down that it will keep your personal information confidential and will only share statistics. But even aggregated data, when finely parsed, can be highly compromising.
While the Census Bureau didn’t release the names of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the bureau did lend a hand to our government in tracking them down. According to a new research report, the bureau’s complicity assisted in the rounding up of 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were then sent to camps for the duration of the war.
The paper, titled “After Pearl Harbor: The Proper Role of Population Data Systems in Time of War,” says in days following Pearl Harbor the bureau put out detailed reports on the Japanese population in the country, including where pockets could be found. J.C. Capt, the director of the Census Bureau at the time, explained: “We didn’t want to wait for the declaration of war. On Monday morning we put our people to work on the Japanese thing.” The paper indicates bureau disclosures to the War Department were so exacting that it provided the number of Japanese people living on various city blocks.
What’s even more troubling is that a block-by-block report on racial make-up wasn’t generally available then, but it is today. Now, with computer assistance, the bureau’s databases can organize “nonidentifiable” information in ever-smaller nuggets and make it available in no time…..
There’s a reason the law prohibits the census from forcing people to disclose their religious affiliation. Matters of faith should be private and a compendium of where religious minorities lived could later be used as a tool for repression. But if that information is deemed too intimate and potentially compromising, then so should questions of race, ancestry, household relationships and physical and mental health.
By not answering invasive questions on the census I risk a fine of $100. That comes to ten dollars a year to protect my privacy — well worth the price.
And the fine for not filling out the questions:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bachmann may be in trouble if she fails to fill out the entire census. Spokeswoman Shelly Lowe told the Washington Times that anyone over the age of 18 must fill out all the questions and any such person who refuses to answer “any of the questions” faces a $5,000 fine.
Each of us will need to decide if completely and honestly filling out the 2010 U.S. Census is the American thing for us to do. What will the Government really do with the information collected? Are we willing to pay the fine?
Good luck with your decision.
We don’t have $5,000 to spare. They kind of have the middle income makers in a no win situation. I’ve seen Steve King interviewed with the “A-CORN-y” rep- it was very odd to say the least.
Thanks for the heads up!
If you are worried about your privacy, worry about the feds reading all your emails. Bush’s ‘Spy on Everybody’ policy is still in effect.
Worrying about racial roundups or religious persecution is truly paranoid. But the chance the government will object to your politics is real. You don’t ever express any political views in emails, do you?
wasn’t your messiah supposed to rescind that and not expand it? Oh wait, its Bushama, they are one in the same.
Jerry get a life… Obama had a chance to abolish the “Spy on Everybody” policy and decided to continue it… So now it is Obama’s policy, start blaming the right person and administration, which is the Obama Administration… You really need to move on…
If big brother is that bored he needs to read my emails then they are pretty bored. Its Obama’s spy’s now in case you haven’t known Jerry its been Obama’s baby now for almost 6 months. Seriously Jerry you need to quit blaming Bush and let go of the past and start blaming who’s in office for continuing something you are against , remember You won we lost . I know one thing I don’t want Acorn getting my personal information its none of there dam business.
Jerry- with the current president I have more than enough to worry about without adding you worry to my list!
I’m concerned about the census, but I always have been , at least ever since census takers in VT in 2000 attached a census form to a TREE on my property because they couldn’t find my house !!! That was so silly I just had to laugh and I never did fill it out as it didn’t appear to me it had been properly delivered.
I for one will be answering the question–if it’s on there– as to how many people are in our household and I will have to see the actual form before I decide how many other questions I will answer.
I have had concerns about the privacy of my emails for years, in fact before I even bought a computer, that’s how paranoid I am!
And since the advent of the Obama administration I’ve received two e-mails, one “from” David Axelrod and one “from ” President Obama, and I have no clue how they got my e-mail address as I have never contacted them by e-mail.
I don’t necessarily want them writing me,though I haven’t asked them to drop me form their address books, but I sure am curious as to how they got my address. I wonder do they buy lists the way companies/newspapers, etc. do?
Someone needs to remind the liberals that Bush is not President anymore.
If you do not fill it out be prepared to feel the full wrath of the feds. Judge Napalitano says it should the law could easily be overturned but I do not want to be the one to test it. I don’t have the money, resources, nor time.
I’d rather clang my bell for H.R. 1207
Actually the fine for not answering the census is only $100.0. $500.00 if you give false info.
the law was amended for 2010 to increase the fine to $5,000 for not answering *any* question. $100 i can brush off. not $5,000.
I followed the link on this article to the 2010 census website. They list the fine as 100.00 but state that it is rarely enforced. I saw nothing there stating an amendment to increase the fine to 5000.00. Jeff, if you have a reference that can be checked please provide it. I am looking for factual information on what info I must provide as dictated by law.
What they are asking for is unconstitutional.Check this clip out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsDhkPym01k Bachmann is whithin her rights.
I received my 2010 census form today. Question #1 asks how many people reside at this address. I answered it. The rest of the questions are so personal…albeit ridiculous…because the government knows all these answers anyway. They ask for my name, my sex, my age and date of birth, my phone number, whether I am Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, am I puerto Rican, Cuban, or toerh origina such as Argentinean, Colubian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, etc. They then ask, What is your race: White, Black, Afracam Am., Negro, Americna Indian, Alaska Native or?? Asian Indian, Japanese,Korean, Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino,Vietnamese Samoan, Other Asian Other Pacific Islander??? or other race??? They ask if I have a 2nd residence I sometimes stay at..or am I in college or the military or in jail or prison or a nursing home
This is unbelievable. A CENSUS is a count….what difference does it make to the census bureau if I am white, black, hispanic, nicaraguan, samoan, Japanese, Korean…??? pink, green or spotted?
And why on earth would they need to know if I have a 2nd home somplace (cottage/seasonal residence?) or if I sometimes am in prison??? Huh?
I called the Census # on the form and asked this simple question (actually asked it 3 times) “Is it correct that I need only complete question #1 on the census form stating how many people reside in this residence?” The young girl, who did not have an answer, put me on hold 3 times to ask a “supervisor”..she returned each time and answered a different question…”The census is done to provide accurate counts for proper allocation of representatives in all States.”…I didn’t ask that! “The census is completed so the government as accurate listings of number of people in states/country”…..I didn’t ask that. “You are required by law to fill out the census form”….I didn’t ask that. I asked if I filled in Question #1 would that be sufficient and why on earth did they need to know my ethnicity, whether I live in a house, a mobile home or an apartment (the address would give them that anyway!), what my race is, my phone #, my date of birth, etc…??? I, of course, NEVER got an answer. Our government could screw up anything and my bet is on the census being so incorrect they’ll have to redo it again next year! ha….I’m answering Question #1 and that’s it!
My understanding is the census is to get an accurate count of how many PEOPLE are in the U.S. It shouldn’t matter of what ethnic origin or race as long as they are HUMAN. I will fill out name, age, sex, and birtdate. It seems to be the only interest of ‘person 7 thru 12′.
If we are to be TRUELY one nation, then race or origan should mean nothing to the government. And why are Hispanics, Latinos, Spanish, etc so strongly singled out? As long as the government seperates us we will remain seperate! It is time we unite as RACE-Human, NATIONALITY-American!!!
We are only filling out question 1, period. It’s asinine for government to ask the rest of information that HAS NOTHING TO DO with counting number of people living in the United States.
You would think K-G-B was involved in creating this form…
I think that the government wants (and expects) us to omit and/or misrepresent the answers to some of the Census questions so they can make LOTS of money by imposing fines.
Why must they know exact time and minutes for my travel to work or how long I’m there… They Say to determine traffic and transportation flow…. but I do not wish to reveal when our house is vacant at a specific time…. This is too invasive!
Do you have a water tank, what kind of fuel? What was your bill for last month’s electricity?? What???? Oh MY!