Millions wasted on census as headcount approaches

Associated Press ^ | Feb. 16, 2010 | HOPE YEN

[Free ThinkerNY]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Were those pricey Super Bowl ads a waste? Maybe not, but paying $3 million to census employees who didn't do any work surely was.

The Census Bureau, a month away from its 2010 population count, has already wasted millions of dollars paying temporary employees who never did the work and others who overbilled for travel, according to excerpts of an audit obtained by The Associated Press.

On a positive note, federal investigators said it was appropriate for the Census Bureau to spend $133 million on its advertising campaign, including $2.5 million for Super Bowl spots that some Republicans derided as wasteful.

[dforest]

I think the census will be all lies courtesy of the American people.

[driftdiver]

“including $2.5 million for Super Bowl spots that some Republicans derided as wasteful.”

no bias there

[mdittmar]

Gary Locke is heading this up,was a dem Governor of my State,tell him to piss off!

[IM2MAD]

...wasted millions of dollars paying temporary employees...

I heard recently that last summer the Census Bureau was GPSing front doors of homes if owners had firearm in the house. Does anyone know anything about that.

[GLDNGUN]

I heard recently that last summer the Census Bureau was GPSing front doors of homes if owners had firearm in the house. Does anyone know anything about that.

They were GPSing EVERY front door. There was nothing about "if the owner had a firearm". I hadn't heard that wild conspiracy theory.

[Kandy Atz]

One of the most ineffective campaigns I’ve seen in years.

What exactly is the message?
Who are those people and why should I care?
What is the call to action?
The actors look vaguely familiar, is this a spot for a new celebrity reality show?

Maybe it made sense on the story boards and got some chuckles during the focus group, but it stinks on screen.

The fact that MY tax dollars are being wasted on this garbage makes it even worse.

[GLDNGUN]

Significant waste indeed. Last spring they had field workers driving National Forests for days and days. According to every known piece of information and according to the Forest Rangers charged with watching the forests, there were NO people living on the vast stretches of land, yet, the Census workers were told to drive every road they could find to verify this. The idea was you might find a homeless guy living out in the woods. This is a total waste of time and resources for several reasons. First, is someone trying to live undiscovered in the woods going to build his camp right next to the road? Of course not. Secondly, SO WHAT if a couple of people living in secret way out in the woods are not counted. Is it worth the money, effort, and risk to drive for days or weeks to find someone who may be living out in the woods? And what are the chances he/she will still be there A YEAR LATER when they actual count is being done? Finally, if it is THAT important to count every last single homeless person living way out on National Forest land, how about having those who know the area the best (The Rangers) do the driving and counting? I'm sure these government employees could "squeeze" this into their "busy" schedule. That way, you have the most qualified people doing the job, in properly equipped vehicles, AND you aren't having to pay ANYONE extra money to do it.

This last fall, they did another phase of the Census and there was many cases in which they had a week's worth of training, then less than a week's worth of work for those trained. It made no sense. Instead of paying to train 20 people for a week to do 1 week of work, why not train 10 people for a week to at least work for 2 weeks. It's not like the work HAD to be done in 5 days. They hired too many people and had too little work for them.

[Lucky9teen]

[EdReform]

Department of Commerce - U.S. Census Bureau - 2010 Census Advertising: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Program Plan

Funding

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $1 billion to help the Census Bureau conduct a successful Census in 2010. This plan focuses on $100 million being added to the advertising contract (a component of the 2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign), which is used primarily to raise awareness and to educate residents about the 2010 Census and the importance of their response...

U.S. Census Bureau’s Budget Estimates As Presented to Congress - May 2009

"... 2010 Decennial census program: Budget Authority of $6.9 billion (105,391 FTE), an increase of $4.1 billion (69,027 FTE) over the FY 2010 base. The Obligation Authority of $7.8 billion in FY 2010 includes $897.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds carried over from FY 2009:

As mandated in the U.S. Constitution, the decennial census provides the official population counts for determining the allocation to states of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and for determining how the districts are defined for those seats. The program also provides data for small geographic areas and population groups that federal agencies need to implement legally mandated programs.

Fiscal Year 2010 funding is requested to conduct the enumeration of the population, with Census Day falling on April 1, 2010. Specifically, in FY 2010 the Census Bureau will conduct the major 2010 Census operations, including mailout, receipt, and processing of returned census forms; conducting the non-response followup operation whereby households not returning a census form are contacted by census enumerators who collect the information.

Other major operations include Group Quarters Enumeration, Update Leave, Update Enumerate, Military Enumeration, conducting census operations in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas, and numerous other operations. These operations will be supported by an extensive partnership and communications effort. The Census Bureau will also conduct Coverage Follow-up operations and conduct Coverage Measurement field operations. Additionally, the Census Bureau will continue to support these operations through a network of local census offices and regional census centers, as well as at headquarters..."

[eleni121]

I keep getting packets of glossy materials to disperse to students...offering them jobs and training in how to answer questions. This politically motivated garbage must have cost us tens of millions.

[Smokin' Joe]

At a recent event, the Census people were offering free plastic commuter style coffee mugs to people who passed. Most declined, including me.

I hate drinking coffee out of plastic, anyway.

Wonder how much that cost to print those mugs up--and how many were made (probably in China)?

[IM2MAD]

Thanks. Do you know why they need that information? It sounds like another waste of money to me. But what else is new?? What the heck. They could google earth and get the same information for much less.