[I mentioned this possibility and have not seen any for *years*]
[I mentioned this possibility and have not seen any for *years*]
Wasn’t the most recent census taking in 2010 or 2011? Now another one?
Never get into an argument with a low level bureaucrat. You can’t win, because they only have one path. Say no, close the door, move on.
For the 2010 Census I only filled out the parts listed in the Constitution. Several weeks later I was outside doing yardwork and a census worker showed up and told me he was at my home to gather the rest of the information.
I told him that I did what was within the Constitution and that the Government would get no more from me. He said that the law required it and I called him a Communist and told him to get off of my property. He did so immediately. It wasted about two minutes of my time. I also had a 45ACP holstered on my belt at the time so I guess he did not want to argue with me.
I never heard any more from those commies.
There is a general census (2010) and then there is an ongoing “census”.
As it was explained to me, for a period of one year the Census Bureau representative assigned to a target area will contact a pre-determined group of households four times, once each quarter. I was contacted, my immediate neighbors were not. At the end of the year, another group is targeted, and so on.
Each quarter the Bureau had a different question. One quarter they asked how much was spent on fast food a month. Another quarter they asked the average monthly grocery bill. Another they asked the average electric bill. Each time they would ask if there were any changes in income and if anyone in the household was on aid or needed help getting on aid.
The first interview with no ‘special’ questions was down by the ranch gate, the remaining were by phone call. The worker had an assigned number of surveys to complete each month, so he was fine with a phonecall. The worker didn’t ask any questions Uncle wouldn’t already know from one glance at my bank records anyway, so I figure it’s just busy-work to keep some people employed.
Its not a question of law so much of a question of what the hand picked federal employees in black robes want to do.
The Law only authorized them to count your number not take 40 minutes of your time answering questions entirely unrelated to the number of people IE potential voters in the house. Frankly its none of the FEDERAL Government’s business most of what they ask you.
If I were you, id just tell them you reported your number and plead the 5th on all other questions.
Tell him, “I charge $300 per hour for interviews, with one hour minimum. Give me a check for $300 dollars and we will begin.” Then put your hand out and don’t say another word. Let him mumble about not having the authorization to give you money. Turn around and close the door.
The Census Bureau does various types of more specialized surveys in off years, and businesss and farmers and other entities participate in some of them.
Did the person who said they were a census taker mention any particular type census survey they were taking?
The Census is bogus and inaccurate anyway. More than half of the people in the U.S. aren’t counted. Because often when the census taker walks up to somebody’s house, some guy with a shotgun and a big dog comes to the door and chases the census taker away. And sometimes the census taker doesn’t even get to meet the guy, because the big doggie is sitting there in the front yard waiting for him with a toothy grin on its face
And the census taker can hear the dog thinking: “Open that gate. I dare you.”
since when is the census being taken in 2014?
He said, “I work for you.”
You should have said “Mow my lawn, iron my shirt and make me a sammich.”
You did fine...
The law however is exactly as he stated. You are by law, supposed to comply with the survey. They usually try to do it by mail, I have a few of them that I never replied to and would have handled it in exactly the same way as you did.
However, the law has no teeth. It has no enforcement mechanism for a penalty, unless they decide to do it by executive order...which would add another constitutional violation to Obama’s growing list.
They do do this, but I don’t think anyone is doing it now. The census is every ten years and it was over 6 years ago.
I don’t know what kind of place you live in, but if it’s small enough you might want to call your local law enforcement, the guy might be using this as a ruse to get in to people’s homes.
He might just have argued with you, instead of leaving right away, in order to seem legit to you.
The next person might not be so “uncooperative” and they could end up with a bigger problem.
IF this just happened recently-—it might be a total scam.
The CENSUS is taken only every 10 years—on the tens-—2000—2010-—2020-—etc/.
Did you get any real ID from this creep???
Sounds like a fraud. There are no census takers now. They will mail the ACS survey, but no one will come to your house.
During your 30-minute conversation with the “census taker”, I hope to God that you didn’t give him your Social Security number. If you did, then you may be totally screwed. That and your name are all “they” need to steal your identity and clean you out.
The actual Census occurs every 10 years however that is not all the census folks do. There are other surveys that they do monthly where they ask different questions to a random group of addresses. Doesn’t make any difference who lives at that address. These addresses are assigned to people who work for the Census on a permanent part time basis and do this one week each month. The addresses used change every 6 months and a new sampling of addresses are assigned.
There was one instance that a home owner hassled the Census person and brought out a gun. That is when the Census person called the Sheriffs office who sent a deputy out who explained the situation to the home owner. It is a Federal offense to hassle a Federal employee (Census employee) with a firearm or anything else.
Yes this happened to me in 2013. I live in a small remote mountain town in Colorado. Multiple mailings, harassing phone calls and visits and my house stocked by a federal employee. In the end I never complied and he was as combative and rude as I was, which of course escalated. That was a year ago, I haven’t been audited by the IRS yet, and that SOB left with his tail between his legs and understanding that I will have him arrested for trespass and harassment and stocking my daughters and that was the last I heard of him.
Details may escape me, but IIRC summary points are:
- The Constitution authorizes a census, hence you are obligated to participate.
- The Constitution’s census is a mere headcount, nothing more.
- For practical purposes, that headcount may sensibly be associated with an address.
- To wit: you are obligated to answer how many people live at your address at the date of the census (temporaries included, it’s a total headcount at a given time). As it is related to voting, and voting has an age restriction, it’s also reasonable to differentiate between count of adults and children.
- No other questions match the Constitutional purpose.
- Answers to any other questions are public information. If anything is allegedly “privacy protected by law”, remember that a stroke of a pen can make it public - and can then be used against you.
- 5th Amendment: right to silence. You don’t know how this information may be used against you.
- 4th Amendment: if they want that information, they can get a search warrant.
- Some information can be gathered just by observation. By showing up at your house, they can pigeonhole your race, age range, and other observables & inferences.
After the last census, a counter parked on the side of the road at my house waiting for me to come home. He tried to pry more info out of me, but I stated (in an agitated tone, as a complete stranger was attempting to invade my privacy under color of law) that I had answered the questions required by the Constitution. He got the point and left immediately.
The fact that this guy managed to talk to you for HALF AN HOUR does not bode well. I’d have restated “I have answered the questions required by the Constitution, now get off my property” and called 911 within half a minute. At best the guy isn’t there to debate, he’s there to gather info he has no right to; at worst, he’s casing your house or building a legal case against you (”anything you say can and will be used against you...”).
At worst, they can fine you $100 (or is it $500 now?). That’s a manageable amount; $10-50/yr for privacy is worth it. I’ve never heard of anyone actually being fined. If I’m chosen for such punishment, I’ll consult a lawyer and (most likely) pay the fine (to avoid other cumulative legal problems _and_ to establish standing & damages) and proceed to sue for rights violations and compensation for damages.
The census, per the Constitution, is necessary for establishing an orderly process of voting (drawing precincts, assigning representatives, etc.). The number of toilets in my home, the racial characteristics of residents, and my income bracket do NOT contribute to that Constitutionally established process. Insofar as that information is assuredly “protected and private”, remember that census data was used (IIRC) to round up Japanese-Americans in WWII for involuntary and extra-judicial incarceration in internment camps ... and that a whole lotta celebrities just found out how “protected and private” their computer-stored private data (pictures) were.
Of course, refusing to answer is, itself, categorical data which can and will be used against you. Lose-lose.