Nice try. The government should conduct the Constitutional census (the head count) and get out of the rest of the business.
Quite right. From 2000:
No making sense of the census
The Constitution mandates a census be taken every ten years. Counting the number of people is necessary to apportion congressional representation. So all that’s really required is an accurate count of citizens be made.
Of course, that’s only if you believe in the Constitution. Few of the sophisticates in Washington do. That’s why all sorts of irrelevant questions are included in the census.
This year’s basic form demands the name, date of birth, sex, and relationship of everybody living at a residence. Keeping up with the times, “unmarried partner” is an available selection. Big Brother wants to know if you own, rent, or have a mortgage.
You have to indicate whether you’re “Spanish/Hispanic/Latino” and, if so, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano; Puerto Rican; Cuban; or other, which you must identify.
You then have to declare your race. Options include White; Black, African American or Negro; Asian Indian; Chinese; Filipino; Japanese; Korean; Vietnamese; Native Hawaiian; Guamanian or Chamorro; Samoan; American Indian or Alaska Native; other Asian; or other Pacific Islander. If you select any of the last three, provide your tribe or race, as appropriate.
That is, as I mentioned, the short form. If 2000 isn’t your year, you’ll be one of the every six households getting the census’ long form. You’re in for a real treat. There are 46 more questions to answer.
These include marital, citizenship and veteran status, where everyone in the household lived five years ago, ancestry, and if English is spoken at home and how well everyone speaks it.
The government wants to know who has disabilities, who has a job and where they work, and who has difficulty “learning, remembering or concentrating.” How long does it take you to get to your job and what time do you leave? How many vehicles do you own? Do you carpool? If so, with how many other people?
The census folks are most interested in money. You’ll have to break down how much you get in earnings, interest, pensions, welfare, child support, alimony or anything else. How much do you pay for your mortgage or rent, electricity, insurance, property taxes and gas or oil or other fuel? If you live in a condo, what’s the monthly maintenance fee?
How much is your house worth? How many rooms does it have? Do you have a flush toilet, a refrigerator, and a telephone?
The Census Bureau estimates it’ll take about 38 minutes to complete the form. According to the bureaucrats, “It is quick and easy, and your answers are protected by law.” Now that’s reassuring. The law, too, protects FBI files and yet 900 of them ended up in the White House and, gosh darn, no one knows how.
The government’s turned out a promotional piece, “Five BIG Reasons Why You Should Fill Out Your Census Form.” None of the five BIG reasons is apportioning the House of Representatives. One, however, is: “Make Government Work for You. It’s a good way to tell our leaders who we are and what we need.”
Ah, yes, what we need. Washington will dole out an estimated $182 billion a year based on census data. So the busy bodies use that as a carrot. State and local governments encourage citizens to respond to intrusive, unnecessary questions to get their “fair share” of the pork.
Seven years ago a House appropriations subcommittee took the Census Bureau to task for doing a lousy job in 1990. The biggest complaint was there were too many questions. A report declared: “The Committee stresses that the basic purpose for a decennial census is an enumeration of the population, in accordance with the Constitution.”
Within weeks after that report was issued, the Census Bureau showed how effective it could be. It produced a listing of cities in which single men outnumber single women. Explained an agency statistician, “It’s just a basic guide for people because we get so many calls asking about this. People call because they are unhappy with where they live. They think there aren’t enough men or women – or they are unhappy with the ones who are there.”
Yet another BIG reason (in addition to the fine and harassment you’ll get if you don’t) to fill out your census form.
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt claims, “Census 2000 can be a civic event that reverses the troubling decline in the level of civic engagement across our country.” What about the troubling decline in the government’s willingness to stay out of our business?