“What I afraid will happen this time is that they won’t get a high enough return of respondents with answers and at thus at some point will begin to make educated guesses. I don’t like bureaucrats guessing at the number of representatives being apportioned to the Congress. Conservative areas will lose for sure imo. “
You are exactly right deport. It scares me when conservatives won’t fill out the population information because that means the ones who do are lefties. WE want to be counted too, but the paranoia is going to cause many communities to lose. The number of Representatives is an important part of our Republic. I understand that the ‘only thing the constitution requires is a number, not age and name, blah blah blah’, but if you stop and think about it, do you really just want that? What’s to stop people from claiming 45 people live in this house, 72 in another and so on. I feel more comfortable actually getting information because when you just leave it to a number, the numbers will be fudged much easier. Not to conservatives benefit either.
Another thing that irks me a little is the assumption that if a person works for the Census, then they are an ACORN employee or something. That has been the fear for a long time, but I assure you that it is not the case. I would estimate 99% of the people in my district are anti-Obama, some (mostly retired) people who felt it a patriotic duty themselves to see that it was done properly. The Crew Leader in my district is the head of the Republican Party in her county.
Some of the posts here at Free Republic (and most especially at the Big Government site) are like the old game “Gossip” where speculation and fear has turned into “this happened to my friend/neighbor/cousin/etc...”
Another thing that irks me a little is the assumption that if a person works for the Census, then they are an ACORN employee or something. That has been the fear for a long time, but I assure you that it is not the case.
That maybe the case in some locals especially where the make up is heavily democrats. However I know several people who are working for the Census and I can assure that isn’t the case with them. The top dog for this area I know personally and have spent hours with him. He’s about as anti Obama as one can get.
Take care....
Of course that was the one done by the Founding Fathers so what did they know about counting heads.
BTW, the other evening I was looking for a number ~ the population of Great Britain in 1775 ~ to use in a discussion on FR. Intriguingly UK didn't have a census ~ it had partial counts, and estimates, and various claims advanced by the parties, but not the real deal.
The estimate of UK population varied from 3.5 million to 7.0 million at that time. The United States of America ALSO had a population that was estimated at something like the same figure (depending on who got counted and where).
Parliament had no representation from America.
Having a census was a big deal to the Revolutionary Founding Fathers. Not having a census was an equally big deal to the Tories in London!
UK finally had a regular census in 1841 ~ Parliament was transformed in the next election.
Having a full census, including the enumeration of property and conditions would seem to be a fundamental Civil Right which no real Conservative should reject.