e-mail rumor? Couldn't find this at Snopes.

[Kali]

THE NEW CENSUS:
An All-Out Assault On Your Privacy

The federal government has quietly begun using an incredibly intrusive
new census form called "The American Community Survey." Up to 1 million
households a year will receive this form.

This new "census" form is 24-pages long, and demands that you lay bare
every detail of your life, including how much you earn, what your home is
worth, details of your health, when you leave for work, previous addresses,
pregnancies, monies received from government, and on and on.

I say demand because you can be fined up to $1,000 for each of the 72
questions you don?t answer or which you answer "incorrectly." However, so
far no one has been fined for not answering, nor are they likely to be if
public resistance is strong.

The ways the government could use this information to harm you are
mind-boggling. For instance, any financial discrepancy with IRS or Social
Security records could result in your criminal prosecution. Knowing when you
leave for work could enable police, acting under the Patriot Act, to
secretly enter your home.

The American Community Survey also demands that you to report on the
activities of relatives, employers and roommates. Joseph Stalin could hardly
ask for more surveillance powers. You can download the survey at
www.census.gov/acs/www/

Article I of the Constitution allows the government to conduct a count
of the American people once every ten years to determine voting districts.
Nothing in the Constitution gives government the power to continuously spy
on the people or probe every intimate detail of their lives.

As Congressman Ron Paul observes, questions on the American Community
Survey are "both ludicrous and insulting," and this information is simply
none of the government's business. I fervently hope that millions of
Americans will burn their forms or accidentally lose them.

[lonestarnot]

1. Burn that fucker like a Vietnam draft card and a boobs not bombs

bra!

[alfredo]

2. sounds like BS.

[lonestarnot]

14. May sound like BS but it's not. You better look again.

[alfredo]

19. For what? I see no warnings on the page.

[lonestarnot]

20. Did you read the material?

[alfredo]

29. It's a page full of links. Which link is the one?

[lonestarnot]

30. look at 21 here for the actual survey and then look at the letter from the

fucking director and why they want the detailed info.

[alfredo]

31. You could have provided a link to the directors statement. There

is no letter from the director on the original link. How is it titled? Give me a clue. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to provide me with a link to the legal warnings, than playing fucking games with me.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alfredo]

33. You're the one that wanted me to read it. If you want me to

read something, at least tell me what it is. None of the links on the page seem to point to anything about our legal obligations or anything about these surveys being mandatory. I read the survey and it had no legal notice on it. Seems like if there were legal consequences attached to the answers, it would be in big bold letters.

As least provide a title to the document so I can do the search function. That wouldn't be too hard would it?

[lonestarnot]

35. Here pg. 11, you need adobe

http://www.census.gov/cac/www/acs-group-quarters.pdf

[alfredo]

42. Thanks.

My OS doesn't need Adobe to read or create PDF's. If it wasn't for Photoshop, I wouldn't own any Adobe products. They're real turds in my opinion.

From what I have learned over night, the fines are standard fines for falsifying any government document. The document provided does point to the Statues and those pertain to making false statements on government documents. So this is no more evil (or good) than any other document out of the government. I would not want to answer some of the questions and I don't think the census taker would press me or any other person.

Remember, Roe Vs Wade affirmed the right to privacy. That is why the authoritarian right is against it. It's not about abortion, it is about the right to privacy.

[lonestarnot]

43. So this is no more evil (or good) than any other document out of the

Further demonstrates constitution is just a gd piece of paper to these freaks and privacy right affirmed under Roe v. Wade is being chipped away with required notifications under new ruling SCOTUS recently. If you think NAZI's won't require answers to all questions posed without having to make payment for your unwillingness, well we shall see. One person indicates that they got away with it last year. (upthread). I also hate adobe, despise adobe! Census takers are salaried employees. What do you think is going to happen to them when they come back to the office with numerous half-ass answered forms? LOL

[alfredo]

45. We just have to stand up and keep speaking truth to power.

if the people listen and join us fine.


I can see a bit of Libertarian streak in you. That isn't a bad thing. Look at Chomsky. He's got more than a streak of Libertarian in him. Left Libertarians are the ones who will be manning the barricades first. They are the ones who are standing up and yelling the loudest against our loss of liberty.

[lonestarnot]

46. I'm left of left. If that's Libertarian, then ok.

[alfredo]

47. Left with a much harder line on protecting our liberties.

I'm off to buy some new blinds.

[lonestarnot]

48. That would be me. Stay away from 3 day. They suck.

[alfredo]

49. We ended up buying a nice desk lamp and some seed for the lawn.

I think we will have to go to Pier 1 for what we want for our windows.

We had a $50 gift certificate for Home Depot.

I feel so fuckin suburban.

[lonestarnot]

50. ewww Home Depot a red company! I hate them! But I occasionally

find myself there for a have to visit.

[alfredo]

51. It was a gift, so we didn't have to spend our money there.

I found the place to be dirty, and disorganized. Lowes seems to run a much tighter shop.

[originalpckelly]

21. Here is the actual survey file, HOLY CRAP!

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest05.pdf

[Ioo]

26. Link Here

http://www.speciousreasoning.com/node/1455

http://www.free-market.net/towards-liberty/new-census.html

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

[LiberalArkie]

3. What would happen if everyone replied that they were Gay,

non-christian and poor. What would happen to their demographics?

[Mz Pip]

7. Or Arab,

Muslim and pissed. :sarcasm:

That would make them crazy too.

But really, isn't this just the kind of thing conservatives want?

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Crabby Appleton]

4. It's for real, there was a thread about it a few weeks back

[DavidDvorkin]

5. If you go to that link

What it says there about the American Community Survey indicates that it's a report now being generated using existing Census data, not a new form that will be used in the future.

It appears to be a new statistical tool that tries to glean additional information from past data that will be of use to towns, etc. in their planning.

[babylonsister]

6. Looks real to me, though this is the first I've heard of it.

The American Community Survey is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It will replace the long form in future censuses and is a critical element in the Census Bureau’s reengineered 2010 census plan.

And yes, a response is REQUIRED by law -
http://www.census.gov/cac/www/acs-group-quarters.pdf
Last page in the .pdf file above

[lonestarnot]

10. Scarey use stated

"and show a large corporation that a town has the workforce the company needs." FUUUUUUUCK THAT!

[razors edge]

27. and

people are OUR most valuable asset, f this, i aint answering. just mutalate the 8 digit omb authorization code at the bottom right of the envelope.

[lonestarnot]

37. USC says you have to according to their site. Constitution is just a

GD piece of paper.

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. Not entirely BS, but $1000/question fine is

Google " $1,000 for each of the 72" and the identical text shows up at a lot of blog postings, but I have not seen debunks - except one response that the fine is actually $100 - not per question but for the whole survey. Nobody seems to have any documentation.

When I made my way through the Census.gov FAQ for the survey, it seemed to lead here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+13USC221

[lonestarnot]

13. Your link doesn't work.

:shrug:

[The Straight Story]

9. The website linked has all the info you need to know on it:

Here is a look at it:

[lonestarnot]

11. In a capitalist society, shouldn't the fucking market determine

whether existing housing meets the needs of families. They could give a fuck about how families live! KATRINA domestic policy demonstrates that!

[lonestarnot]

12. And oh I'm sure we can count on the confidentiality of these records

being protected by the Census Bureau just like the V.A. Administration. I got my second letter from them just yesterday re the stolen computer blah blah blah.

[warrior1]

15. Link to a petition to stop it.

http://www.petitiononline.com/STOPACS/petition.html

[lonestarnot]

16. Thanks warrior 1!

[left is right]

17. The American Community Survey (ACS)

is a comprehensive survey divided into 3 parts. It tracks map spots not individuals. It is not sent by occupant name but rather residents of a specific address. There is no statement on the form for the postman to forward it to the last resident if house is vacant. In fact vacancy of said map spot is part of the information they are seeking.
The first part deals with vital statistics. Age/sex/household relationship--spouse, parent, offspring, other relative or non-relative and race/ethnic background. It does ask for the names of the household members but you can decline to give any.
The second part are housing questions--asking questions such as how it is heated and how many bathrooms, it asks for an approximation of utility bills and estimated value of house. One of the important questions is about the status of the place--is it a permanent resident of a vacation home; you give as much information--if not more--every time you fill out and mail a warranty card on any major appliance or electronics.
The third part is more information about each member of the household. Where you work, What kind of work you do how much education you have and approximate income. Yes that seems intrusive, but once again, you give out that information freely on any warranty card.
The goal of the ACS is to replace the decennial census--at least the long form, which is required by law and if I am not mistaken is authorized by the US Constitution. It provides information about traffic flow and the monetary/educational health of a community. It does not require your Social Security number or any information that does not contribute directly to the statistics required for the efficient operation of any city state or country

[lonestarnot]

18. I don't send in warranty cards either.

[originalpckelly]

22. The penalties for not answering or answering falsely the census:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode13/usc_sup_01_13_10_7.html

I believe that this Subchapter applies to all of us:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode13/usc_sup_01_13_10_7_20_II.html

The fine appears to be $100 not $1000 for a refusal to answer the questions (though again I may be incorrect.) And it appears that the fine is a general fine that shall not be exceeded for any single offense, so I suppose that means no one may be fined for each answer they do not give.
The fine appears to be $500 for false answers.

[alfredo]

34. Falsifying any government document is illegal, so this isn't

anything out of the ordinary.

[originalpckelly]

23. Here is a 2004 USA Today article about this:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-11-08-census_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

[originalpckelly]

24. Here is a Wikipedia article on this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Community_Survey

[ComerPerro]

25. Conservatives would love shit like this, I figure

[SacredCow]

28. Sounds like the "long form" of the last census...

That's what I got, and I found it to be horribly intrusive. I asked both an attorney and a friend that works for the US State Department if I really had to answer it all, and they both said the same thing. I answered how many people lived at the address and their ages. Period. And I never heard back from the US Census Bureau.

[NorthernSpy]

36. this is the same survey that I refused to cooperate with last year!

Very, very intrusive. I just told the guy that I wasn't going to give him any personal information.

I seem to have gotten away with it, too: they haven't contacted me again since.


That incident made me angry and paranoid for weeks.


:tinfoilhat:

[lonestarnot]

38. Good for you!

[Kali]

39. The right to privacy and the good that info can be used for.

This reminds me so much of the issue western ranchers (and other landowners) have to deal with concerning potential rare or endangered species. You want to contribute to knowledge and science, but on the other hand you are afraid of how it will be used against you.

I have turned away people from our private property wanting to survey for a certain species because of this. I have limited archaeologists for the same reason. It's kind of sad, really. You want to know things and even share the knowledge, but when there is risk that your private property or livelihood may be adversely affected, you feel lot of pressure to just say NO.

[lonestarnot]

44. "Fuck NO!"

Sorry Kali, I had to... :evilgrin:

[dkofos]

40. I hope I get one

And thank you again Ron Paul for calling BULLSHIT on this one.

[williesgirl]

41. They'll get # of people in household from me and nothing else!

The Constitution authorizes them to COUNT us, that's all. NFW.