American Housing Survey

[freepertoo]

First time I've tried initiating a post, hope I'm doing this correctly (apologies if I am not!). I have received an American Housing Survey Worksheet in the mail from the U.S. Department of Commerce (second census I've had in two years) asking for very private information (how much I pay in utilities, total real estate costs, how much I put down to purchase my home, how much I still owe, etc.). I am really getting upset by these intrusions. Is it legally expedient for me to answer these questions? I feel that my civil liberties are being invaded. I do know, from past experience, that if you don't answer they will hound you into the ground until you do. Has anyone else filled this out? The form actually says to gather several years worth of documents so that when the census worker calls or comes by, you will have it handy. Interview, they say, takes 40 minutes. I don't have 40 minutes for these people! I don't have 40 minutes for myself!

[WackySam]

Do what I did- throw it in the garbage.

[Twotone]

I haven’t seen this survey, but my health insurance company has twice sent a survey they say will only take 20 minutes to complete. It ended up in the round file each time. The last one said they would call if it wasn’t returned. So far I haven’t heard from them. If I do, I’ll be hanging up on them!

[gorush]

I’m not willing to comply...but that’s easy for me to say.

[Pollster1]

Harmless if you do not respond, although they will contact you repeatedly. Harmless if you intentionally misunderstand every question: You pay zero in utilities, since your wife writes the check; you have no bathrooms with running water, since all the faucets are shut off. I had a great time with it, and they never harassed me about my answers, except for race. The race and ethnicity of every person in my household is “HUMAN”, the only race relevant to our government overseers.

[freedumb2003]

Lie like an SOB!

Have fun, use your imagination.

[faithhopecharity]

if it will clog up your toilet drain, then you may have to settle with simply shredding it

[Agamemnon]

Just tell them you can't recall, and you can't find paperwork. It worked for Hillary Clinton!

Seriously though, there should be a statute cited on the request you got. Read the statute and see if what they are asking is theirs to ask by statutory authority. If there is no statute cited, it may not even be from the government at all and might be a scam. (Like the gov't isn't already a scam, I know.)

You could simply "forget" to respond to the point they have to pick up the phone. Make them call you. Once you have them on the phone they'll get bored with your "I don't know" and "I can't recall."

What's the penalty for failure to respond? None probably. There's none for the 10-year census, just a nasty person waving an ugly stick at you. I made them interview me personally, because I refused to send in the form. I told the census taker how many people lived at my home, ages, and occupation and confirmed it all with the address. Any intrusive questions I simply responded with "You don't need to know that."

I am not aware of any statutory authority describing what you have, although my business got a Commerce Department census that wasn't all that intrusive to answer. Did it on line in fact.

FReegards!

[Politicalmom]

Nobody has EVER been prosecuted for refusal to fill out a census. If this is an American Community Survey, here’s a link with some experiences of people who refused to fill it out. Usually they bug you for a while, then go away.

http://www.cxliv.org/2006/02/03/american-community-survey/

http://www.fcsm.gov/committees/ihsng/diffendalasa2000.pdf

[grellis]

Ignore it and continue to ignore it. That’s what I did—took over two years but I get absolutely nothing now.

[yldstrk]

“Legally expedient” means a legal short cut. I say it is none of their beewax

[Graybeard58]

If I don’t fill out United Health Care’s annual survey, they will increase my premiums by 20% that’s 20% more than their 2011 increase of 35% and 20% more on top of their 2012 increase of 30%.

They want to know if I smoke and how much I smoke, I lied to them for years on that one, then about 5 years ago, I really did quit smoking.

They want to know how many servings of certain vegies I eat in a weeks time, how many servings of fruit and grains, dairy products, meat, etc on and on.

How many minutes per week I exercise, how- walking, jogging, swimming, they want me to be very specific.

I also fill out one of these for my wife, none for the kids yet.

I lie outrageously on every single question, even when it’s not of any possible advantage for me to do so, for example, my height varies from year to year between 5’10” to 6’ 2” . They’ve never said a word about the deviations.

There’s another thing, then I’ll shut up. At the end of the survey there’s a little room for comments. The last two surveys I’ve filled out I wrote there, “All these very personal questions you ask me relating to my over all health, you’ve never asked me the one that would be most detrimental to my health and that is, are you a fudge packing homosexual”?

They haven’t answered my question yet.

[outofsalt]

Must watch video! (after fifteen second commercial)
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=christopher+walken+census+taker+video+youtube&view=detail&mid=1E6598E87C8EB32D32571E6598E87C8EB32D3257&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

[sarasmom]

Don’t answer it. Just say no, by ignoring it.

1. It might be a sophisticated scam operation.
2. Absent your living in government provided housing,you are under no obligation to participate in such a survey.
3. Contact your local Sheriff, District Congressional Rep, or your state Senator and request them to tell the agency involved to leave you alone, and take you off their mailing list.

Several “agencies” are getting pretty annoying with their new thirst for invasive and time consuming “surveys”.

Only the official national ten year Census Survey is mandated by law.

[Ken H]

Just write in big bold letters:

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

[Ray76]

Throw it out. “I never got it”

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

I threw both mine in the garbage. They can go to hell.

[upchuck]

Throw it out.

Enough low info voters will fill one out to satisfy their need. Don’t encourage them.

When they harass me I always say, “I filled it out and mailed it. If you didn’t receive it, I suggest you contact the US Postal Service.”

[RedMDer]

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April 20, 2013

[freepertoo]

The form says to NOT send it back to the Census Bureau, that they will contact me in person. There is no statute that I can see. The form also says this is not a questionnaire, but a worksheet to help me prepare for when they call me. This is America?