Comments on: Census goes too far with children

By: Sasha

Sasha — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:18:33 +0000

I can’t believe so many can allow themselves to be so incredibly ignorant. This isn’t child labor or an invasion of privacy and doesn’t need to be political (the buzz words have just gotten out of hand on all fronts). As a teacher myself, thank you Mr. Grove for your comment. I couldn’t agree more with it.

By: The Census-in-Schools Debate « The Census Project Blog

The Census-in-Schools Debate « The Census Project Blog — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:17:56 +0000

[...] I’ve heard everything. The columnist, a former Georgia representative, thinks we are brainwashing our children with the much-lauded Census in the Schools program. The 2008 Libertarian Party presidential [...]

By: Census Mngr.

Census Mngr. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:59:36 +0000

I am glad to read so much vigorous debate regarding the Census Bureau. Yes, I do work for the U.S. Census Bureau Decennial (that’s what the once-per-decade Constitutional-mandated-censuses are called) as a temporary and intermittant employee. I worked on the 1990 and the 2000 Decennials in various clerk positions. I also worked for a short while as a field representative on one of the current(ongoing)surveys. I began in October in my present local census office position, and I will finish in the fall of 2010, becoming once again a former Census employee!
My job is to coordinate the recruitment and testing of people like each of you to work on the 2010 Decennial. These are temporary positions working on tasks such as updating and verfying mailing addresses, so that when the Decennial questionnaires are mailed out next year, they will go to actual addresses, and the right number will be sent out.
Next year, Americans will mail back the 10-question Decennial survey. (If you would like a sample copy of the Decennial survey, call your local Decennial Census office and request a sample copy).
As I mentioned before, this is a Constitutionally mandated census-Article I, Section 2. This means that EVERY person must be counted, and that refusal to comply is a violation of a Constitutional mandate.
In the first Decennial in 1790 the goal was to satisfy all parties in the new Federal government by allowing each state to have two Senators, while each state additionally had representatives chosen according to population. This way, less populated states would have the opportunity for equal representation as a more populous state, regardless of the geographical size of the state.
As Deborah stated above, the first questions asked how many of certain persons were in a household, that some persons were not counted, and that (as per the Constitutional wording)slaves were not counted as whole persons. Gender was already being tallied, as was the NAME of the head of household. By the early 1800’s, additional questions were being asked, and more were added until by 2000 the “long form” was an unweildy document. Much of that is now the American Community Survey (ACS, which is NOT the Decennial survey).
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts, on an ongoing basis, several surveys which collect information on employment levels, health status, crime, etc. When you read the statistics on the number of unemployed or incidences of certain crimes or illnesses, these are data taken from ongoing, current surveys. If your county has water projects and free student lunches, these are based on Census-collected data. Specific identifiers are removed from this data, protecting respondants, personally identifiable information.
I, like many of you, am very concerned with the intrusion of government and media into our private lives. The Decennial and the Census Bureau provide data which can help support efforts by Americans to protect their rights and to gain information necessary to securing benefits or to promote programs and projects.
Additionally, Census data provides one of the world’s best geneological archives–in fact, most geneological research endeavors in this and many other countries rely on Census records.
So, while you may rightly wonder if your life and your children’s future are safe in the hands of “The Government”, the Decennial and the U.S. Census Bureau are efforts which, though not perfect, provide the sort of data which can be used to fight government injustice–even should it be the Census Bureau itself!

By: Gene

Gene — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:59:14 +0000

Hey Bob -

It’s good for children to learn about the Census for no other reason than to learn that it dictates how many representatives we receive in Congress and that states use it to gerrymander district boundaries — two facts that most adults in this country don’t even know. The simple fact that educating children about things that affect them as adults somehow scares you like an Orwellian novel should raise an eyebrow to your readers. The less people know, the EASIER it will be for socialists and left leaning liberals to take over this country.

Do some fact checking next time.

By: Deborah Fetkovich

Deborah Fetkovich — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:27:24 +0000

Woo-Hoo! Congratulations to Glenn Beck. US Census Dept has just announced it had severed all connections to ACORN.

FOX NEWS is the best.

By: Deborah Fetkovich

Deborah Fetkovich — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:54:06 +0000

Take II: After visiting the government’s consus website, I’m more confused than ever. Even though the census forms have all been printed, there’s an embargo (censorship) to prevent members of the public from seeing what the census will consist of. There’s also the claim that revisions have been made and only the short form will be used and that this form should take no longer than 10 minutes to fill out.

There’s mention that it’s against the law not to fill out a census form — a law that has never been used, but the govt site doesn’t tell us that. I don’t recall this threat being used in previous census years. There’s also the claim that information is now gathered annually instead of every 10 years and that there will be use of the controversial “estimating” instead of actual data — a practice that isn’t constitutional.

By: Deborah Fetkovich

Deborah Fetkovich — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:34:25 +0000

Our nation’s 1st census was in 1790. Here’s the questions asked:

1. Name of head of family
2. Number of free white males 16 and up, including heads of families
3. Number of free white males under 16
4. Number of free white females including heads of families
5. Number of all other free persons, except Indians not taxed
6. Number of slaves

By: Deborah Fetkovich

Deborah Fetkovich — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:02:49 +0000

I’ve read that the 2010 census is going to be a whopping 27 pages worth of questions. Those who fail to complete the entire thing can expect visits (perhaps from ACORN thugs?) It’s also been discussed that if indivudals aren’t as forthcoming as the govt deems appropriate, your neighbors will receive visits and be pumped for information about you.

The Constitution mandates a census every decade for the purposes of determining representation in the House of Representatives. The govt also is entitled and indeed ought to know who lives in our borders, where they live, and what their citizenship status is. All of this can be accomplished with a few questions on a single page.

All of this is highly disturbing and Mr. Barr’s information on the govt’s plan to turn school children into unwitting “snitches” is absolutely disgusting. It’s reminiscent of the Third Reich.

By: AA

AA — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:51:57 +0000

Cherrighost–

I don’t think anybody here objects to the basic census. An “enumeration” is perfectly constitutional and necessary for representative democracy. What I–and I think others here–object to is being forced with threats of prosecution to divulge to the government every last little detail about my life down to whether or not I called in sick to work last week. And I especially object to having young children lectured on the party line by their teachers so they can come home and add to the pressure

By: Cherrighost

Cherrighost — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:27:05 +0000

Wow, this is insane! I really don’t understand the concept of “God Bless America” from the mouths of flag-waving conservatives, who then turn around and trash our country every chance they get. We have been doing a Census every ten years since 1790, because it is in our Constitution to do so. Men like Washington, Jefferson, Adams and more who were the founding fathers of the United States knew that democracy means equitable representation and that comes from understanding and knowing where people are. I know our country isn’t and hasn’t been perfect in the past, but you can’t be a proud American and hate the very foundation of what America is about: our democracy and our people. Understanding who we are as a nation, every ten years in detail, helps us plan for the future. If you have a party or a wedding, you sent invitations out and RSVP is expected so that you can plan for the right amount of seats, food, etc. Same goes with the Census, on one hand you have the Congressional representation, but on the other you have our entire federal system. Where money gets spent for roads, schools, senior citizens and children. Most adults have no idea why we do the Census and think it is a government “big brother” program. The Census is a history of nation and it tells us who we are and allows us to understand our history. I can’t believe that someone would discourage children from learning about American history! For them to relate what they learn to their parents and to hope for a better Census in 2010 is simply good planning for their own futures on their part. Federal money for college (that they will need), growth and expansion of industry and jobs (that we all need) and just about every aspect of your daily life is influenced by the composition of the people where you live. It is important for everyone!