The Census boondoggle: $340 million ad campaign

Michelle Malkin ^ | January 4, 2010 | Michelle Malkin

[opentalk]

Otherwise known as the tax-subsidized National Democrat Future Voter Outreach Drive:

Anyone who doesn’t know there is a Census this year will know after Monday.

The government’s unprecedented $340 million promotional blitz of the 2010 Census launches Monday with the debut of the Census Portrait of America Road Tour in New York City’s Times Square.

A 46-foot trailer, to be unveiled on NBC’s Today show, and 12 smaller cargo vans with 14-foot trailers will crisscross more than 150,000 miles nationwide through April to promote the benefits of responding to the 10-question Census.

They will stop at more than 800 events from local parades and festivals such as New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and San Francisco’s Chinese New Year celebration to national sporting events from the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 to the NCAA Final Four.

“This thing is all over the place,” says Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy and chairman of the Census advisory committee on Hispanics. He jokes that “it might make people sick of the Census.”

This is just the beginning:

• $140 million on TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising, including $2.5 million for two ads in the Feb. 7 Super Bowl pregame show and a 30-second spot directed by Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show) and starring Ed Begley Jr.

• Roughly $80 million spent on ads will target racial and ethnic groups and non-English speakers in 28 languages. The bulk of it will pinpoint Hispanics, blacks, Asians and American Indians, but some ads will be in Arabic, Yiddish and other languages.

• Partners from Univision and Telemundo to Google and Best Buy will promote the Census.

[highlander_UW]

Just my name, rank and serial number. I’m not interested in helping out the fascists in charge more than necessary.

[Carley]

Buying the media with these PSA’s.

Bet they don’t buy too much time on FNC.

[norton]

...name, rank and serial number...

Thanks for the reminder; I know that there is some minimum information that the census is authorized to collect. I'd guess number of people living in one place, possibly age, and maybe occupation. (?)

Can anyone clarify just what minimum I might pass on before slamming the door?

[a fool in paradise]

Payback to those who helped the administration come to power. Same as with the stimulus funds.

[dalebert]

congressional investigation please

[highlander_UW]

Can anyone clarify just what minimum I might pass on before slamming the door?

I just did a quick search but this site seems to have some information: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_cens.html

It appears that there is some basic requirements from the constitution, but the government asks much more...how much you can get by with not answering may be up to interpretation. Go too far and you're likely to get some big brotherly attention.

[KarlInOhio]

How much does ACORN get? I think the limitation on them getting money has expired, so they can now get a big stack of cash to "advertise" to their community.

[Wurlitzer]

They are required to make a COUNT nothing more.

I received the long form the last time and only entered the number of people in my house. I got 2 phone calls and I told them I gave them ONLY what the constitution requires.

They gave up!

[OafOfOffice]

The way it reads they only need numbers in each household. Obama tried to take it new lengths and ask when you left the house each morning. Can you imagine telling the felons ACORN hires all your personal data.

From genealogy census, you see only head of household and then members of that household and ages.

http://supreme.justia.com/constitution/article-1/07-apportionment-of-house-seats.html

Clause 3. [Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons].

[Cementjungle]

Lots of temporary workers, which will make the employment numbers look good for a while... then, they’ll be on the unemployment rolls well into the next presidential election, making them dependent on the Dems for their continued payouts.

[OafOfOffice]

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

The Questions on the Form

[tkas]

I think it’s really funny that on a couple of questions they say “asked since 1790”. They know they have to justify asking some of their questions! ha ha Since I live in Massachusetts, I am thinking it would be helpful to have an undercount for representation purposes. I certainly won’t participate in the long form. I have never given out racial data, and I am considering lack luster cooperation on the total number of people in this household.

[Slings and Arrows]

I intend to tell the census ONLY the number of people living in my house. If I’m feeling generous, I may add that no-one here is an untaxed Indian.

[OafOfOffice]

I just found this information about the original census. A guideline for what we must answer?

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6224

History
The 1930 census began on 2 April 1930 for the general population of the United States. (The enumeration in Alaska began on 1 October 1929.) Regardless of when an individual was contacted, all responses were to reflect the status of the individual as of 1 April 1930.

Enumerators (census takers) collected the following information for each household:

Address (name of the street, avenue, or road; house number)

Occupant (name of each person and their relationship to head of family)

Residence (whether home is owned or rented; value of home; whether home is farm residence; whether home has a radio)

Personal (sex, race, age, marital status, college attendance, ability to read and write, birthplace, and birthplace of parents)

Citizenship (language spoken before coming to the United States; year of immigration; whether naturalized or alien; ability to speak English)

Occupation (trade or profession; industry or business working in; class of worker; whether worked the previous day; line number of unemployment schedule)

Military (whether veteran or not; war or expedition participated in)

Note: Individuals in Alaska, and Indians were asked slightly different questions. For example, Indians were not asked about their mother’s country of origin, but which tribe she belonged to.