This is grandma.
Posted on 11/27/2009 5:24:12 PM PST by Winstons Julia
My 102 year old grandma has received two mailings from the Census Bureau. The envelope says she is required by law to answer the questions.
It's a huge booklet.
They are asking about her income. Does she get any from rental properties? How far does she drive to work?
I was stupefied at the financial questions asked.
What legal rights does she have? This reads like an invasive thing.
I thought they were just supposed to count us?
Should we go to the local congressman and complain?
Anyone?
I haven't received ANYTHING from the Census yet, and I'm in the same county.
Look up “The American Community Survey.” Got this a couple of years ago & never filled it out. Put up with 3 months of harassment by Census employees to obtain the information, including nightly visits for 2.5 months. After about 3 months, they will give up.
I was going to post a similar answer, but decimon pretty much wrote what I was going to say. For some, the yearly survey will hit the same year as the regular census form.
I believe the longer form that’s sent to a certain % of the population each year is called the ACS. It’s been 10+ months or so since I was out to the census bureau website, but if I recall correctly, the penalties are for not completing the “regular” census and do not apply to the ACS. HOWEVER, please don’t take my word for it. Go out to the census bureau website and take a look...
Also, did a quick search because I remembered posting about this once before—
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2174366/posts?page=81
See my post at #73...
That’s exactly right on - and couple that with their snitch website awhile back with all the $$$$ confiscated from TARP and Porkulus.
“I nicked the census man.
Now theres a good boy”
Five word reply to the feddies: “Lo siento, no hablo Inglis.”
Eric,
I was wondering if I wrote on it to go f themselves and put it in the mail can they come after me?
After all, I’m an extremist, white male, Christian, former military, etc. etc. etc.
Yes. Respondents are required to answer all questions on the American Community Survey (ACS) to the best of their ability. Response to this and other Census surveys is required by law (Section 221 of Title 13, Chapter 7, United States Code). This chapter also contains information regarding offenses and possible penalties. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000. More information. Your answers are very important because they represent the answers of many other similar households in your community. The data that you and others provide in response to this survey are required to manage or evaluate federal and state government programs. If you submit an incomplete form or provide data that are unclear, we may contact you by phone or in person to obtain or clarify the missing information. The ACS is part of the Decennial Census Program. It is a survey that is sent to a small percentage of our population on a rotating basis. These data previously were collected only in census years in conjunction with the decennial census. Since the ACS is conducted every year, rather than once every ten years, it will provide more current data throughout the decade. The Census Bureau may use the information it collects only for statistical purposes. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you, and all other respondents, strictly confidential. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine up to $250,000, a prison sentence up to five years, or both.
https://askacs.census.gov/cgi-bin/askacs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=642&p_created=1093522639&p_sid=1*fLc3Oj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0zNiwzNiZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=&p_topview=1
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
Maybe Grandma needs to say privacy is her religion.
This is grandma.
I’M on a watch list, too. From DAY ONE I had a lot of fun with flag@whitehouse.....
It was just such a target-rich environment.
...I don’t think that will fly, but she could take a vow of silence, including writing I suppose, in accordance with her faith. They can’t argue the validity of that belief, but they could inquire that she doesn’t really believe it.
I agree that the code is clear....my beef is that it has never (almost never?) been enforced and therefore rather meaningless. I like someone to point me to a court case where someone has been fined or gone to jail over telling the census to pound sand.
I’m NOT saying anyone should be so stupid to be the first person put in jail or fined over the census...
...it isn’t enforced until it’s enforced. Unfortunately as long as it’s on the books, it’s a valid law.
Tread lightly. These pricks can make your life miserable at no cost to themselves.
I received the census package twice, & both times I just threw them out. Until these morons in office can show one iota of sanity, then I will do nothing to help them...
Well...I’m going to phone her and see how this thing is labeled.
She is out shopping with my brother right now. I just don’t understand why she’s getting mailed this.
Regardless of what it is, it’s financially intrusive.
And if it’s being sent at the same time as the regular census....it’s misleading.
I am all over this.
I don’t like this.
I hope you understand...even if it’s ALLOWED...should it be allowed?
She ran a business for 50 years and retired at 93. She pays for a supplemental insurance to her medicare.
She’s never broken a law.
She was behind the counter of a country grocery store and is not only my AWESOME grandmother....but the matriarch for an entire community.
What does the government want with her?
I’m sitting here reading my year 2000 Cencus form. I started to fill it out but came to the question about how many bathrooms in my house. That’s when I quit filling out the form. They hounded me for weeks, kept coming back to get it and I told them I wasn’t done with it yet....finally the community organizers gave up.
This time I think I’ll just put a sign in my yard:
“Cencus, the answer is 2, now go away”
The address is picked at random from among other addresses in a census track, and the name used is the last known resident at that address.
So it’s just dumb luck that they got a 102 year old woman.
The data they collect about households really isn’t all that different than the data they could mine from local real estate agents as to average bathrooms, bedrooms in a community, and it does get specific on several things, such as use of Energy Star appliances, CFLs and just about anything else that they decide to throw in there.
The responses about income, savings give the economic picture of the community.
All of this data they can get by other means, the only difference is that all the responses to the community survey are lumped together and weighted average, and reported only as results per census track. The only person who gets to see your grandmother’s name is the data entry drone, and if you write clearly, it’ll just be a computer which will note that survey # whatever came back with the following responses.
Now, what’s done with this data, that’s usually the problem, as this is where the pork pie starts. If everyone declined to fill out the form, they’d just mine the data from other sources. If you want her to be contacted by the census, probably multiple times, by phone and in person, then don’t fill out the form. If you take the fifth, you’ll still get the census workers coming by.
If she’s willing to put up with that, then just toss the form in the trash, and I’d suggest keeping a tray of cookies and some ice tea on hand to give to the expected guests, and politely refuse to answer any questions. If she’s not, then fill out the form.
As for the video - I’d love to hear your grandmother’s viewpoints, and I think others on YouTube might be educated by them. It’s always great to ask congresscritters questions, even when they refuse to answer them, an education in itself. I’d strongly advise against escorting census workers off the property with firearms, as why would you want to let the federal government know what weapons you have on hand? A couple cookies, a glass of ice tea, and a pat on the head and admonishment to get a real job will accomplish far more, especially if it’s captured on film.
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