So, got my Census. WTF, man?

[nonconformist]

I got my Census form yesterday and filled it out a few minutes ago. It literally just took a few minutes. All mine asked was number of people in my household, if they live here full time, if I owned my home and the names/ages/birthdates/races of the people who live in my house. That's it. Honestly, it was pretty basic shit. And basically, information that is already out there... this same stuff was also on our tax returns.

Why the fuss? I honestly cannot even begin to understand why it's a bad thing. I admittedly don't follow "teh crazy" much, but even I've heard some buzz.

That said, the Census I filled out in 2000 was much more involved. A great deal of questions, it seems. I can't really recall now what was asked, but I remember it being a few pages and taking a bit to fill out. I didn't mind, though. Honestly I kind of like my personal situation used for statistics, since I have often complained about the government being out of touch. It made me feel good to fill it out. I guess maybe that makes me weird, but if the alternative is wrapping my body in tinfoil and being batshit crazy, I'll accept that.

I guess I expected something similar, so I was a bit surprised by the straight-forward and simple form this year, and curious as to why people would have issue with it.

[mrcheerful]

1. Because Democrats are in charge this year and everything they do have hidden

agendas.

[John Q. Citizen]

10. I worked the census in rural Montana. It was fun and pretty easy. Only a few people

people acted like it was some kinda imposition.

I told one lady who acted all put out that the easiest and quickest way to make sure that no one bothers them is to answer the three questions I was required to ask, ("address?", Do you get your mail here?, and "Any other housing units with a separate entrance?") and then to fill out and send in the form I was going to give them. All done. No more hassle for 10 years!

Only ten questions this decade. Mandated in the US Constitution and conducted every 10 years since 1776.

Another lady was so excited, because they are just about to release the 1930 census information (they protect all their info for 72 years)and she was looking for a genealogical relative in the 1930 Census. Since she was excited about the release of the 1930 Census data, I can only surmise that she's perhaps a trotskiite, or maybe she's a Mormon who has someone she wants to convert, posthumously. Or maybe not.

Anyway, it's bound to upset somebody.

[nemo137]

2. You may have gotten the short-form rather than the long-form

Either way, the complaining about it from the right is based on racism, paranoia, or sheer partisanship.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. There is only 10 questions this year for everybody. No long form.

[nemo137]

11. Derp! This is what I get for blanking and tuning out census news.

Thanks! :hi:

[Throd]

21. Wrong. I got the long form.

[gmoney]

6. I thought there was no long form this time

Isn't the research formerly done with the long forms now being outsourced to a company that inquires much more frequently with a smaller group of people?

[TreasonousBastard]

13. You're the second person in two days here who thought that...

and I wonder where that's coming form.

The long form questions have been changed a little and are sent out randomly to about 250,000 households a month as The American Community Survey. It's still run by the Census, and only Census employees work on it. All Census employees take an oath to protect privacy, and NO outside firms have access to personal data. It's all incredibly encrypted and hidden away.

The main reason the questions were taken out of the decennial census was that many reports are made from the data collected and the data gets older every year, so the random monthly surveys keep the data fresh.

At any one time, the Census Bureau could be working on a dozen different surveys, all of which are authorized by Congress and the courts have uniformly considered them constitutional.

(Yes, I do work for the Census and the ACS is part of what I do.)

[jaysunb]

16. Thank you !

That's great info.

:hi:

[John Q. Citizen]

18. The American Community Survey Isn't the long form. It's a different concept and program.

It is more in depth than the decennial census, and it goes to less than 1% of the population at any time.

I'm glad the census does it's work, but what the courts consider to be constitutional and unconstitutional is like water . It's frozen in the winter, running in the spring, and evaporating in the summer. What's in fashion?

One thing a lot of people don't realize is just how much and how useful information is produced by the Census Bureau. Tons of statistical data that's very useful to lots of people for many different things.

[TreasonousBastard]

22. That's not entirely true...

it was started as a pilot program in the mid 90s specifically to eliminate the long form and fully implemented in 2005. The questions are not the same as the 2000 long forms, but questions change every year, or every 10 years for the decennial.

Partial history of ACS:

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/dm1_ch02.pdf

It goes out to about 250,000 households a month, which works out to about 2.5% of US household per year, and it will be going on for quite a while.

Yes, courts can change their minds, and Title 13 can be changed, but the Supreme Court rulings on Census data collection go back to 1870 and no recent appeals have been accepted. Even that rat bastard Scalia has said the Census is pretty well sacrosanct, so I wouldn't fear any changes in the legal status any time soon.

[PhD]

24. I received the American Community Survey a couple months ago

And found it rather intrusive with all the questions about my family's finances. Now I've received the actual census form this week, and it is quite brief.

[nonconformist]

8. I guess I got the long form in 2000.

Who knew an accurate population count had such a liberal bias?

[Orrex]

3. The ink infiltrated your skin; you now have millions of DLC nanobots coursing through your veins

[John Q. Citizen]

4. I worked the census. It ain't no big thing.

[grantcart]

7. From the report I got on your form it seems that the enzymes left on the form

show that you are deficient in Vitamin D and have multiple sex partners.

[nonconformist]

9. But... that was years ago!

*sob*

Meanwhile, the crazies are poking their unrec finger through their tinfoil. Funny how they didn't have an issue with Bush sanctioned sneak and peeks or warrant-less phone taps, but they draw the line at a population count, dammit. I hope they chime in and explain their, um, line of thinking here. They don't even have to leave their reinforced bunker to do it.

I'll start on supplements asap.

[dyingnumbers]

12. I like multiple choice.

I answer the race categories at my discretion...

I'll be counting myself in White & Hispanic categories by which I'm often racially profiled, thank-you-very-much Los Angeles County.

Go equal opportunity!

[John Q. Citizen]

19. Questions of race are deeply personal.

We all came from Africa, a long time ago.

[boppers]

25. Speak for yourself!

I came from Pangea.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. If you insist on precision, we all came from the oceans.

Before that, it's entirely possible we all came from Mars.

[Historic NY]

14. Came yesterday & out today....not really a lot of info that I expected.

[brewens]

15. Really? Mine asked how many guns I had, what make and

caliber, and where I kept them. If you own guns, don't even open it!

[John Q. Citizen]

20. If you do open it, duck!!!

[ibegurpard]

17. they send out more detailed questionnaires to some households

i have no idea if it's random or if there's some methodology.
In any case, it's important information for both private and public agencies and you have more chance of having your private information at risk just by logging on to the fucking internet.

[2Design]

23. Some people get a long form and some get a short one n/t

[HopeHoops]

27. IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND THEY'LL USE IT TO GIT YA GUNS!

Or so I've heard.

Actually, Article I Section II of the Constitution REQUIRES the census. But hey, them thar's facts and we don' need no librul facts. :eyes:

[uppityperson]

28. I am not one "race category", except human race.

I also don't particularly like having to declare names and birthdates of everyone who is at this address. No, I have nothing to hide, and know that DOL (dept of licensing for driving license) and passport people know my name/address/birthdate, but why can't they just coordinate and share info? Why have to give another place this info?

Yes, it was the short form, but it irked me.

[Viking12]

30. Trying to pretend race is not important doesn't make racisim go away

[uppityperson]

31. Of course. But categorizing me as one "race" doesn't either.

Is that the purpose of the census, to make racism go away?

[Viking12]

32. If you're multi-racial, you can indicate that on the form

No the purpose of the census is not to make racism go away per se. However, the data collected is used to meet the obligations of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, among others.

[rocktivity]

29. In 2000, I was living in a small building where the mail was put in a central bin

I grabbed one of the census forms that was in there, filled it out, and mailed it in. A census worker turned up on my doorstep because I'd picked up one with the wrong aparmtent number. Of course I told him I'd sent it in, and of course he thought I was lying.

Now I'm living in a small building with individual mail boxes. My census form arrived yesterday. Guess what? It had the wrong apartment number! But this time, I called the number on the form, and they're sending me a corrected one.

As for the "buzz" that was strictly a Repub thing, especially Minnesota's Michelle Bachman. You haven't heard about it much because the Rethugs figured out that undercounted census figures could translate into fewer congressional seats for them!

:P
rocktivity

[Matariki]

33. Anyone who's ever done Geneaology ought to appreciate the Census.

I've tracked many of my ancestors that way.

[aroach]

35. Same here

I have gotten so much information from the census that I'm rather disappointed that whoever is looking me up a few hundred years down the road won't be getting a much longer form to peruse.

I have loved looking at the old census and seeing even the neighbors that my great-great grandparents had, the occupations listed, etc.

[bhikkhu]

34. Its a racist POS

...and mine is in the trash where it belongs, though I'll be sending them a letter with the basic information, minus race.

If the government of a country which supposedly considers all people as created equal defines you as a name, age, and color, that's not just racist, its ignorant. Its a relic of the 19th and 20th century's screwed up race-war thinking.

Science has been telling us not only that what we think of as "race" is a very fuzzy story when you look at the genetics, but that racial differences themselves are only about 6% of "who we are", the rest being made up of unique experience, family traits, cultural acquisition, etc. That the census still defines us by race is a useless throwback to an ignorant past, and a reinforcement to that minority of master-race assholes who still pop up now and then.

[PhD]

36. Why not just leave that question blank?

That's what I intend to do.