Census workers can enter your apartment in your absence
Thousands of census workers, including many temporary employees, are fanning out across America to gather information on the citizenry. This is a process that takes place not only every decade in order to complete the constitutionally-mandated census; but also as part of the continuing “American Community Survey” conducted by the Census Bureau on a regular basis year in and year out.
What many Americans don’t realize, is that census workers — from the head of the Bureau and the Secretary of Commerce (its parent agency) down to the lowliest and newest Census employee — are empowered under federal law to actually demand access to any apartment or any other type of home or room that is rented out, in order to count persons in the abode and for “the collection of statistics.” If the landlord of such apartment or other leased premises refuses to grant the government worker access to your living quarters, whether you are present or not, the landlord can be fined $500.00.
That’s right — not only can citizens be fined if they fail to answer the increasingly intrusive questions asked of them by the federal government under the guise of simply counting the number of people in the country; but a landlord must give them access to your apartment whether you’re there or not, in order to gather whatever “statistics” the law permits.
In fact, some census workers apparently are going even further and demanding — and receiving — private cell phone numbers from landlords in order to call tenants and obtain information from them. Isn’t it great to live in a “free” country?
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1,749 comments Add your comment
Censusworker
May 29th, 2010
11:02 am
Some of you people are just plain stupid. You act like the government doesn’t already have half or all of the information that is requested on the census. You guys rag on and on about immigrants, and this and that. If you have a job, pay taxes, or were born in America then guess what… THEY ALREADY HAVE THIS INFORMATION dumba$$. Get over all the political bs and invasion of privacy and this that and the other. How can you even CLAIMED to be this upstanding politically upright person and NOT want to fill out the census… For god’s sake it was Thomas Jefferson & George Washington who cooked it up genius!!! If you don’t want to do the census don’t even call yourself an AMERICAN..
Linda
May 29th, 2010
11:04 am
Thanks for bringing some much-needed facts into the conversation, seanmom. I hope they will be read by all.
Passing
May 29th, 2010
11:08 am
Well put Seansmom
GOOOoooooo DAWGS!
May 29th, 2010
11:08 am
hey, semenmom…or whatever you call yourself……
You just keep telling yourself you understand the Constitution.
“By whatever MANNER they direct by law” means, using a pencil or a PEN….perhaps it means orally or on paper, but “ENUMERATION”—the part you gloss over—-does NOT MEAN THEY CAN ASK ME MY HAIR COLOR.
I suppose you read it that way because that kind of senseless rationalization helps you sleep better at night…but as for the rest of us who DIDN’T ATTEND PUBLIC BRAINWASHING (public school) the word “ENUMERATION” means C-O-U-N-T-I-N-G, you f*ucking LEFTARD.
smarter than you democrat
May 29th, 2010
11:12 am
” In the manner they direct” still is about the *enumeration* and the *enumeration* only.
Just like that 5000 fine you all threaten people with involves court room trial, and I would suggest a jury trial.
You don’t even ask if the people you count are citizens of this country ( USA ), do you.
Not a question, I believe the answer is NO.
nemo
May 29th, 2010
11:12 am
So? What are you going to do about it? NOTHING! You can complain all you want. The public has been doing that for a hundred years. Do what your told you insulant prols. You are meant to be governed.
seanmom
May 29th, 2010
11:13 am
Dawg, I know you wouldn’t want to be spreading lies. You seem to have missed the second news day on this one. The Census did NOT get moved under White House control. It stayed where it was, under the Department of Commerce, because that is the best department for statistical collection. My badge and my check both say so.
“All of you brainless census employees have no idea what the criminals in washington are doing with the information that you provide them with.”
Actually, “the criminals in Washington” don’t get the information. The information is held at Jeffersonville, Indiana, and is embargoed for the next 72 years. Washington (the President) gets a statistical report with aggregated data on his desk on December 31.
In 72 years, the only people who will care about your information are your descendants. If you haven’t accidentally shot them all by then. I am a HUGE supporter of the mighty Second, but a lot of the people commenting here are really making people like me look like some crazed hillbilly gang threatening to shoot Sheriff Andy Taylor and “the revenooers” for getting too close to the still.
PS: Even if someone broke into the data at Jeffersonville, they’d have to know what coded form number to be looking for. It’s not filed in any order you or I or any normal person could figure out.
retrocon
May 29th, 2010
11:13 am
The average census worker is not going to enter any apartments or rentals. And i’m not taking sides with Barr. But the fact is, any law that “allows” something to happen, without clear constraints, will lead to abuse. Already, some scumbags have been hired as census workers, present company excluded, of course. You see in the news every day “sexual predator hired,” “census worker dog bits person,” “old lady shot by local sheriff for refusing to take census.” (of course, the old lady tried to chase off the census worker and cop with a shotgun, but hey).
So, then you have the unscrupulous folks… like ACORN people… maybe they want to look around your apartment for guns or “don’t tread on me” flags, so that they can get you on a terror watch list, that will get you banned from buying a gun if the libs in congress get their latest so called “anti-terrorism” bills passed.
The same folks who don’t see harm in this law saying “access to premises” are the same ones who do see a problem with the AZ laws, which are far more restrictive and protective of individual rights, or the phone tapping stuff in the laws passed during the previous admin. Get real… get consistent one way or the other.
GOOOoooooo DAWGS!
May 29th, 2010
11:15 am
CENSUSWORKER says
“If you don’t want to do the census don’t even call yourself an AMERICAN..”
I will gladly call MYself an AMERICAN after serving my country as I gladly did, but you, you piece of human debris, can MOVE THE F*UCK TO EUROPE if you don’t like it here. I’ll pack your rags and put a boot in your a$$ all the way to the airport.
Some day soon, an attitude like that will get your a$$ kicked. Or worse.
GOOOoooooo DAWGS!
May 29th, 2010
11:21 am
Enjoy your blissful indenture, Libtards.
While you are misquoting ME, you should try answering the issue of how it is your Idols of The Left live in high cotton, while they have you convinced if you tell them …what was it…your HAIR COLOR….they’ll make your lives whole and worth living. CRUMBS…..
Nope.
You can’t explain their hypocrisy. Its too FRIGHTENING FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!
Your grandchildren will SURELY thank you for their return to slavery.
I hope they starve.
Mine won’t.
Phil
May 29th, 2010
11:24 am
I agree that we could not even open a screen door or open a mailbox (should they want to leave it there). My concern is not so much what’s asked (I think only citizens should be counted), but how it’s used, as the info going to the White House, for the first time, and the possibilty Obama might be able to use it to rezone so Democrats are more likely to get elected, are valid fears. A more conservative friend than me went ahead and did it, so I reluctantly gave in. I didn’t like bothering people or their neighbors (especially ask them to give info their neighbor didn’t want to provide), so I wish we could have just taken the refusal and the the federal government bother them.
seanmom
May 29th, 2010
11:36 am
Dawg, your claims are wrong, and based on nothing. Are you really willing to die on the hill of information provided by Bob Barr? A supposed conservative who now (according to Wikipedia) advocates for medical marijuana, opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, and supports the “Respect for Marriage Act” (a fine liberal joke, ha ha) that will REPEAL the Defense of Marriage Act?
And how about this? The so-called “Barr Code”: ”
Where experience, logic and ideas trump political correctness and the status quo every time.”
Seriously? The only people with “experience” in this discussion have refuted everything Barr asserts in the article. The “logical” question is ignored: how would standing around in an empty apartment help the enumerator figure out the answers to the questions he is time-bound to get answered? And there are no real “ideas” here, just facts, fantasies, and opinions. What is the “idea” being discussed here, anyway? The whole point of this seems to be to gin up trouble and get people killed–by the way, for the most part, those creepy census-takers live in or near YOUR neighborhood. If you think they are liberals, then you must live in a liberal enclave. Because Census tries to limit the mileage we have to pay out. So you HAVE to be first-hired from within your own census tract district (which is a smallish geographical area, defined by population.)
As for political correctness, there’s nothing more politically correct than hating the government–everybody does. There’s nothing honorable or noble (or brave, for that matter) about smearing good conservatives as creepy agents of liberalism and Alinsky-Obamunism.
Barr disappointed me by not being able to end the reign of the Clintons. He disappointed me by changing his tune on marijuana (after years trying to stop its legalization at every possible level). He truly broke my heart by opposing the protection of traditional marriage. But now he’s endangering the lives of people I know and work with. And I am more than disappointed. I am disgusted. And the rag that prints this slander of good Americans doing a Constitutional job should be out of the news business. Oh, wait. It already is.
kim in madison
May 29th, 2010
11:38 am
I think all you suckers who answered the Census down to the last line are fools who deserve to be lied to. Obama lies to you every single day. What about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? Let you down, huh? Is he going to start asking about sexual preference too?
And I don’t care what your badge says, lady, the Census has indeed been co-opted by the Obama White House. Facts are stubborn things, ain’t they?
Baconator
May 29th, 2010
11:44 am
I liek bacon!
seanmom
May 29th, 2010
12:02 pm
“And I don’t care what your badge says, lady, the Census has indeed been co-opted by the Obama White House.”
Prove it.
“as the info going to the White House, for the first time, and the possibilty Obama might be able to use it to rezone so Democrats are more likely to get elected, are valid fears.”
No, they aren’t. This is just wrong.
The information is not going to the white house except as a statistical report–and THAT is not “for the first time.” And “rezoning”–technically “reapportionment” is not some evil conspiracy from the Alinskyites. It is the actual PURPOSE of the census.
And the only way it will get MORE Democrats elected is if areas of large conservative population look empty (because they refused to show themselves and the census does not reflect their existence) and therefore LOSE THEIR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS.
What are you aiming at? More Congressmen for Massachusetts and California and Vermont? And none for Texas? That’s what you’ll get if it LOOKS like there aren’t any people where you are! Moreover, that just plays into the hands of the affirmative action crowd, which wants to do the census WITHOUT an actual head count, just counting statistically representative areas and imputing the data for the rest. THEY are concerned that not enough minorities show up in the data. They claim this for past years.
And what is their genius response? First, same as yours: don’t participate. Which of course will wreck the data. And, second, (because apparently they are smarter than you, and don’t just quit at the point where they lose their representation) they then want statistical inference to add minorities where they didn’t show up in the actual head count.
Bad data will not help you. Losing your representatives in Congress will not help you. MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. Answer the census.
Not a fan but need the money
May 29th, 2010
12:20 pm
Seriously I am not a fan of the questions on the census, but I am working as an enumerator because I have a family to feed. The thing that strikes me most about your article is the shocking inaccuracies that you are implying. First off, the questions while worded slightly different have not changed in 40 years. Second, we were told that it was best to conduct the interview at the persons door and not to go inside. On the upside I guess, the more that people tell people not to fill it out or respond to the census takers questions, the more money I make. I have only had two people who had the fortitude to tell me that they refused,to which I said thank you for being forthright, and then I went to the neighbors house and asked if they knew how many people were living there. So I guess my point is this, if you are gonna take a philosophical stand and not complete the census then please have the guts to answer the door and tell the enumerator so they can move on to a knowledgeable proxy.Just remember that lil old lady down the street (You know, the one with all the garden gnomes?) knows everything about everyone on the block anyways.
Dave
May 29th, 2010
12:25 pm
There might be a few paranoid Jews that weren’t sent to Auschwitz
ilovelamp
May 29th, 2010
12:27 pm
Did it ever occur to you that you “have a family to feed” because you are short sighted to have a bunch of children you can’t afford and are out of REAL work because that monkey in the big house just shoved our National Debt up to 13 TRIllion dollars? That’s TRILLION.
Get your tubes tied and stop blaming everybody else for your problems.
seanmom
May 29th, 2010
12:51 pm
Wow, You faux-conservatives are amazing. “I have a family to feed”" used to be the hallmark of a good, hard-working CONSERVATIVE American. No one I know is going to deny that the economy has been trashed by this Administration. I have my job NOT because of the President, but because of the Constitution. Although the president should thank whatever he calls a god that the census came during his watch (though, again, he has NO control over any of it), because he lucked into a job increase of about a million people (of course they will all lose their jobs by the end of July, so it was only a short-term help to him, but it did keep him out of double-digit unemployment, for the most part.)
I’m glad conservatives whose jobs were sold off by politicians are now able to get at least some of that back. I’m glad people are NOT on unemployment or welfare, and I was sickened to hear people who, after testing, turned the job down because they would LOSE their unemployment. I’m glad there are hard-working men and women willing to put up with abuse from the public, and if any of you harm any of them I hope the federal prosecutors find this thread and put you in a maximum security prison with the kind of tough-guy gun enthusiasts you only pretend to be from behind the safety of your sissy frilly curtains. There won’t be any drooling dogs to make your threats for you, just mean-eyed dudes with homemade tattoos who don’t much like people that shoot retired veterans and 19-year old girls.
Duke Mantee
May 29th, 2010
1:05 pm
So many comments indicating acceptance of the intrusion by the Census and criticism for those who value privacy and freedom just demonstrates how well the conditioning has taken. Sieg heil. Only real losers work for the Census anyway.
John Ennis
May 29th, 2010
1:20 pm
As always, Bob Barr is a lying fuc!. I am a census worker. We were never told we have carte blanc to enter anyones home. In fact we were advised to remain at the door. Barr is as manipulative now as he was during the last presidential election and ran as the presidential candidate for the Libertarian party, which he manipulated as a true experienced politician. He should be ignored and forgotten.
The Greenbacker
May 29th, 2010
1:20 pm
More anti-census crap!
Come on, Barr. According to the census Bureau, about 72% of census forms have been filled out and mailed back as of ~ May.
Which means ~ 25% of census forms have not! BTW, The numbers are about the same as last year.
No one is ever fined and there are no plans to do so, now.
Gimmie a break! What fool would consent to bang on the trailer doors of buffoons such as are some of your respondents, in order to collect those fines?
There is not enough pay for that job!
They’re not coming to get us. I mean, what would they do with 8MM seething illiterates if they did?
Perhaps ‘pry their illegal guns from their cold, dead hands’.
More conspiracy stuff. Designed by the unhinged to appeal to the hysterical. This is what happens when education is defunded. Some strong statements, here, for re-prioritizing educational funding.
It’s not in the interests of officials to whip up ire in twitchy illiterates. That’s when shrapnel happens.
Let them remain unrepresented, for all I care.
Unfortunately, it’s unthinking, uncaring, unaware, apocryphal convictions such as these that keep this country in shambles.
Witness teabags, skinheads in camo jumpsuits, hooded apocalypts… Lordy! It gets the blood just a-boilin’ in this old crank…..
Wait! ‘gotta reload the old blunderbuss, Lemmie see now, dump in a sack of roofing nails , some nuts and bolts, then a tub of black powder. Hmmmm is this in the right order?? No problem. What ever it takes to get those socialists.
(This is gonna blow your mind!)
Census information helps the government (that’s us!) determine proportional representation in Congress.
That’s what the census is all about. It’s important if you care about the country. Otherwise, go hide in your trailers and shoot down your fantasy ghosts.
It’s a simple innocuous form w/ about a dozen questions. Constitutionally mandated – Article I, Sxn 3.
Remember? The Constitution of our country? It’s what keeps us free.
Fill it out and send it in.
Notice (as seen in the ‘Classified’s’):
Help wanted: Census Taker; To interview survivalist groups in backwoods of Northern Idaho and deep south. Possibly (Very) short term employment. Must be able to outrun a bullet.
Seems to me as if ~ 25% of America is lying in wait for their own spooks to get ‘em…..
Linda
May 29th, 2010
1:28 pm
seanmom: “The ‘logical’ question is ignored: how would standing around in an empty apartment help the enumerator figure out the answers to the questions he is time-bound to get answered?”
Well, according to some of the paranoiacs here, we’re not going to stop there. We’re going to plant drugs and steal their goodies because you know, we’re just the paid goons from ACORN. (rolling eyes)
The reason I stumbled on this thread in the first place is that for one of the next apartments I’m scheduled to canvass, the owner refuses to allow census workers in at all. That’s really unusual, as I’ve had such good rapport with residents and property owners/managers in my district. I wanted to find out if there were any incidents that triggered his belligerence or fear so I googled the issue and found this BS.
My canvassing is all rental properties with security access; some property managers give me wide access and/or information and others give me the minimum. But almost all will give me at least the April 1 vacancies, and the headcount for the apartments that were occupied on April 1 but are now vacant. That’s what I shoot for and if I get more information, great!
Especially with the census happening only every 10 years, I understand that property owners/managers are confused about their rights and responsibilities re: the census. They have a responsibility to protect the privacy of their tenants to some degree. So I’m pretty laid back about it, making sure they know that any information they give me is completely confidential.
These lies from Bob Barr don’t help my efforts to try to get everyone interviewed. I can see where already confused property owners could now be belligerent, expecting that if we get access to their buildings, we’re going to break into tenants’ apartments and what? Count their shoes? Who knows?
So my mission this weekend is to plan a call to this landlord on Monday, addressing these kind of issues and try to find out exactly what his problem is. Thanks, Bob Barr. Not.
Dara
May 29th, 2010
1:30 pm
increasingly intrusive questions????seriously? have you even looked at the census there is hardly any questions on it at all,nothing even useful really give me a break
Linda
May 29th, 2010
1:30 pm
Yeah, Dave and some you other nuts–Just keep comparing the census to Hitler’s reign. THAT gives you credibility.
Margaret McCleskey
May 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
The census has been taken every tenth year since 1790. Over the years such questions as these have been asked: Who lives at this location? What is their relation to the head of household? How old are you? Where were you and your parents born? What is your primary language? Are you a citizen? If an immigrant, what year did you immigrate? Are you a naturalized citizen? If so, when were you naturalized? Can you read and write? What is your occupation? and one year they actually asked if you owned a radio. I could go on and on.
My only oncern with this year’s questionaire (I got the short form) is that white Americans could not indicate their ethnic origin.
Another thing: Census records are a valuable resource for genealogists. The information on them is (by law) kept secret for 32 years after the census date.
Divinity
May 29th, 2010
1:51 pm
@Linda
Per your comment: “G, not everybody mails in their census form and that’s why they hire people to go out and help do that. Sending enumerators out in person also helps make sure we’ve accounted for every household. (New developments spring up all the time, and would otherwise get missed.) Also, forms are not mailed to P.O. boxes because we’re specifically enumerating physical households. All of this stuff ensures that we get complete and accurate census data.”
You aren’t really trying to sell that fairytale, are you? Are you actually trying to say that the census is a way of getting “complete and accurate data?” If that’s your argument then I have a question…
So the gov’t sends out mass mailings, hoards of street-beaters and door knockers with the stated intent of getting an accurate “count.” If that’s the case, then please enlighten us as to how they get “accurate” figures for all of the illegal aliens in this country who utilize MORE of those resources than the citizenry? The “census” doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.
As a previous poster stated, the only thing the “census” accomplishes successfully is to gather other significant data that has nothing to do with enumeration which gets utilized in all sorts of “statistical” ways.
CathyB
May 29th, 2010
1:55 pm
I’d like to request that people reading this blog remember that this piece is ONE person’s extremely paranoid interpretation of established law.
Not everything you read on the Internet is true!!!!!
Good grief–have we come to this, that we see boogie men where ever we go?!?!
Does anyone really think that renters have that extreme loss of rights to privacy than a homeowner’s right to privacy?!?!
Does anyone really think that the government would post on the internet that Census workers aren’t allowed to even ask to come into your home if they can turn around and enter at will?!
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/about/whole.php
~~~Quote~~~~
We specifically instruct census takers never to ask to enter a resident’s home. We certainly would not allow them to try to enter a home if the residents are not even present.
The law does require the cooperation of building managers and gated communities to allow us TO ENTER THE BUILDING OR NEIGHBORHOOD to conduct the census and other surveys. The Constitution mandates a count of everyone, including people living in these situations.
~~~End quote~~~~~~(Emphasis mine)
Do you really think the government would risk the MILLIONS of lawsuits it would face as people filed claims about supposedly stolen or missing expensive possessions?!
The government is dumb–but they’re not THAT stupid.
Give me a frickin’ break!
Bob, put the little tin foil hat back on your head, they could be watching!!!!!
And thanks for propagating this lie, setting up the vulnerable to believe that when someone who is dressed as a Census worker comes to their door, they don’t have any recourse but to let that person in!!
Talk about irresponsible!
Bonehead!!!!!!!!
Linda
May 29th, 2010
1:57 pm
Greenbacker: “Seems to me as if ~ 25% of America is lying in wait for their own spooks to get ‘em…..”
That’s what it’s all about: fear. It’s amazing how the current crop of right-wing politicians and their media outlets have succeeded in triggering fear with simple buzzwords. If you wanna scare the bejeezus out of one of these tough guys, just drop any of the following words into the conversation: ACORN, Obama, communist, maoist, socialism, death panels, health care, redistribution of wealth, nanny state … (the list goes on). You don’t even have to know what any of these words really mean, you can combine them randomly without even worrying about where you drop them into the sentence. Context or nuance doesn’t matter. Here’s a great example, from Glenn Beck:
Glenn Beck Attacks [You]
(Plug in your own name, and enjoy the claptrap.)
The funny thing is: The census-avoiders are creating their own worst nightmare. The Mexicans are gonna outnumber us and take over? Hey, it will sure look like it if we all lay low and refuse to be counted. The Democrats are gonna take over? Yeah, we probably will, because redistricting of political lines won’t have to include you. You’re going to be left hugging your guns in your underground bunkers.
So go ahead, knock yourselves out, conspiracy nuts. It’s not the life for me but hey! Have fun!
Linda
May 29th, 2010
1:59 pm
Margaret, I think you made a typo. It’s kept secret for 72 years after it’s taken.
Divinity
May 29th, 2010
2:00 pm
@Linda,
One more question, have you personally been involved with the new GPS mapping of peoples homes/front doors? Whether you have or not, how do you feel about that and what on earth does it have to do with acquiring an accurate “enumeration?”
You can say folks are paranoid nuts (and some indeed are) but frankly, the government heaps this resistance, anger and non-compliance upon themselves with such unconstitutional, intrusive and wholly improper activities.
If the process of enumeration followed the constitutional intent and adhered to the original stated purpose of taking a “head count” then people wouldn’t be wasting their time complaining about it.
Linda
May 29th, 2010
2:05 pm
Dawgs: “I suppose you read it that way because that kind of senseless rationalization helps you sleep better at night…but as for the rest of us who DIDN’T ATTEND PUBLIC BRAINWASHING (public school) the word “ENUMERATION” means C-O-U-N-T-I-N-G, you f*ucking LEFTARD.”
That pretty much explains the uneducated hysteria here. I bet this guy throws around the phrase “intellectual elitism” too.
Linda
May 29th, 2010
2:18 pm
Yes, Divinity, this process is about getting complete and accurate information. It’s not a fairy tale, it’s the way we do business. For every housing unit where a form hasn’t been received, we get a form to fill out. We have to turn that back in with our canvassing results. During our rounds, we may find new housing units and we add them. We also find houses that are no longer residences, so we delete them. Special teams are put together to count the homeless and those who live in group quarters (like nursing homes).
With the contact info we get, other teams go back and do random quality control checks of our work. Other teams will go out this summer to verify vacant and deleted units, just to make sure we didn’t miss anybody.
The census questions were designed to provide accountability, as with identifying people and their birthdates. “Do you sometimes live or stay someplace else?” is asked so we can check to make sure we didn’t count you twice. “Are there others you didn’t already mention?” shows a list of people who may have stayed with you on April 1st that you may have forgotten. It’s like: “Is this your final answer?”
So yes, every effort is made to get an accurate and complete accounting of our residents. Divinity, you may choose to hang onto your paranoid view of the census but I’m talking from first-hand experience. This is how it works, it might help you to learn about it. We’re not just doing this for our amusement. Really.
Poptop
May 29th, 2010
2:22 pm
Enter your comments here
Poptop
May 29th, 2010
2:23 pm
I was on vacation on April 1, and now they insist on counting me in Florida instead of Michigan.
Linda
May 29th, 2010
2:26 pm
I have no thoughts one way or the other about GPS used in the census. Where there is new technology, it will always be used. Did you know that if you go to google maps, you can probably zero in on a picture of your front door? This is what kills me about census paranoia: Most people voluntarily post more personal information on their frickin’ Facebook page than the census asks for and as we know, google knows all.
What do YOU think is the master plan for GPS, Divinity?
Enumerators R Us
May 29th, 2010
2:29 pm
I am a census worker…we can NOT enter any empty dwelling and we are told not to enter a dwelling even if invited. we are just supposed to get access to gated comunities..secured apt buildings…but not your homes. This misinformation is astounding. We have every right to do our jobs as you have every right to refuse some of the personal info asked by the census. The bottom line is a count of people. Just so you know we are not some govt thug volunteers this is a part time job in a bad economy just like a lot of folks are needing to do. Read up on Title 13 and inform yourselves. We do not get a commission for each form its an hourly wage so heres the news…the people who don’t send in their forms are the reason the Feds have to pay someone to go to your door and the more you refuse and give us the run around? The more time we get to stay doing the job. cha-ching! People like to be secretive whether they are important or not. Im betting you gave more personal information out this week than a census taker asks for by paying a bill signing up on a web site or by just gooing online. Oh and all you gun totin paranoid freaks….im sure shooting a fedaral employee (i.e. census taker) might be a federal offense.
Linda
May 29th, 2010
2:35 pm
One more thought before I get out canvassing for the afternoon: I’m still trying to figure out how the census is infringing on anybody’s rights. As much as I despised the Bush/Cheney White House and their power-mongering, I would NEVER have thought of the census as a tool for them to amass power. NOTHING has changed with the census since they left office, in fact, we’re using the Bush/Cheney census forms and plan.
Can anybody describe to me exactly how they personally have lost even one right ? I mean, I want to hear the whole story.
Chris
May 29th, 2010
2:56 pm
Bob,
to put it as simple as possible, your wrong.
Divinity
May 29th, 2010
3:02 pm
Linda,
I can appreciate your frustration and defensiveness, honestly I can. I am a wife and mother of 4, I don’t know if you have a family of your own or not but I can say that given the political environment of our country, I am deeply concerned about the future of my children (and yours if you have any.) My husband and I are not “paranoid” people by any means. I’m actually a direct descendant of John Jay (a Founding Father, co-author of the Federalist Papers, 1st US Chief Justice, etc.) and I love America and everything she stands for. (Or once stood for.)
Contrary to what you might think, there really is an environment in this country where going through “checkpoints” where you are asked for your “papers” is a daily occurence, you can’t go anywhere without being recorded in some manner and the government has gotten so brazen that it has gone about the process of taking GPS coordinates of your front door without so much as a “hey, would you mind?”
If you personally don’t take issue with any of these things, more power to you. You probably sleep better at night than a lot of people. Of course I don’t think you are out to harass the citizenry or that you would engage in any sort of behavior that would involve unlawfully entering a person’s home but it’s unreasonable for you to think that the frustration people have with what the census has turned into is delusional paranoia. It, like SO many other things, has gotten completely out of hand.
I know that it’s irritating to be made out to to be something you aren’t. Especially when the bureaucracy that upsets so many is largely compartmentalized. But think how frustrating it is to so many decent, law-abiding Americans to be called “potential terrorists” because they voted for Ron Paul, are members of the NRA or have voiced dissent about the state of our government. I would think that given this kind of environment, you’d be able to understand how upsetting it can be to be wrongly accused of something that you have nothing to do with. It seems a bit callous to me that you don’t seem to “get it.”
YOUR fellow countrymen/women would probably appreciate as much clarification and reassurance from you as you could give instead of having insults and obsenities slung their way. As someone who is employed as a “census worker” your conduct is disturbing and if I had to hazard a guess, probably prohibited under your terms of employment.
No matter how frustrated you get, you are a representative of the dept. of commerce and as such should conduct yourself in a manner that isn’t further inflammatory to an already heated issue. People are fed up and rightfully so. YES some people who are not correctly informed can appear “paranoid” or however else you think they come off but why not HELP diffuse the situation by setting the record straight to the best of your ability insteas of fanning the flames?
It’s just that kind of arrogant behavior from people with a lot of power, to the largely irrelevant little people with delusions of power and self-righteousness who are pounding the pavement doing the “dirty work” that your fellow Americans are disgusted with.
Be a bigger person and do something positive with the limited knowledge you have.
MeNotYou
May 29th, 2010
3:06 pm
Oh no,it’s a winger feramonger scarin’ all the tards with another scary Census story!
Ever’body run!Them Socialist Libruls is a comin’ to enroll us in the FEMA camps so’s the Messicans can take over!
seanmom
May 29th, 2010
3:08 pm
Linda and Divinity,
The GPS mapping didn’t work. The data was corrupted and unusable. The handheld computers were actually supposed to be where the enumerators got their direction and recorded their information. Instead, we are now using a paper-based system.
So you can calm down about that. Besides, all it was supposed to do was identify where there were structures that might be occupied. Particularly those that would not appear on the census maps derived from 2000 data. That’s why there were a lot of addresses missed in the initial mailing–10-year-old maps.
Divinity
May 29th, 2010
3:19 pm
I don’t know what the “master plan” is for the GPS information, Linda. But does it matter? You’re correct, a simple google search can pull up a disturbing amout of info about you. Interestingly enough, wealthier communities and properties owned by politicians are NOT available on publicly accessible satellite mapping. Apparently it’s only the peons trying to get by working for an hourly wage like yourself who don’t deserve any privacy.
Google’s acquiring of sensitive information was also done without permission and is a gross invasion of privacy. Does it matter WHO does it? Isn’t your 4th Amendment right to be secure supposed to apply across the board? Google’s activities as are so many others are steeped in politics…just because something CAN be done doesn’t mean it SHOULD.
Aila
May 29th, 2010
3:39 pm
this is total BS. I’m a Census worker, and we don’t have any such right to acess apartments, in fact, we’re FORBIDDEN from entering houses unless requested by the person we interview because it’s inconveinent for them to stand at the door (this for elderly and people disabled). And no, landlords aren’t forced to feed us anything. If their privacy policy states they can’t give us information on who lives in the apartment, then that’s the end of the story. The only time I’ve ever had to question a landlord is to question wether or not the apartment is being rented, and if it is currently empty, if a person lived there on April 1st, Do your research on something before you post a bunch of BS. Don’t try passes this crap as news. Political correctness my &@@! People who read this crap and believe are performing a disservice unto themself.
Lisa Wallace
May 29th, 2010
4:16 pm
I would like to know where to find this information on a Federal Website. I have never known of any census worker being allowed into a private residence.
john-atlanta
May 29th, 2010
4:23 pm
That is nothing, Obama has given Interpol free reign within the USA outside of even the laws the CIA has to follow.
“Obama’s violates Constitution with Interpol”
http://www.obamasucks.tv/docs/obama-interpol01.html
starz
May 29th, 2010
4:36 pm
Not on my watch
May 26th, 2010 7:53 am
“I don’t remember if I mentioned this in this forum or somewhere else, but it bears repeating.
It’s amazing to me how so many people claim our givernment is inept, while at the same time beleiving they are behind a massive well-run conspiracy!”
There is a history of well run conspirators running inept businesses, gov’t, etc. Stop drinking the koolaid and cease thinking like a liberal and you and your country will be better off.
Oh, the Chicago political machine comes to mind.
Linda
May 29th, 2010
4:38 pm
Thanks for the update on GPS, seanmom! All I know is that it isn’t a part of anything I’m doing, that it must’ve been done in previous phases of the project. Wasn’t that used in the 2000 census canvassing?
Linda
May 29th, 2010
4:42 pm
Lisa, you won’t find this information on a federal website, because it’s Bob Barr’s fabrication. Here’s the scoop from factcheck:
More census nonsense
Linda
May 29th, 2010
4:49 pm
Divinity, I honestly don’t worry about people being able to find me. I don’t see it as an invasion of privacy and actually think it’s kinds cool that I really CAN zoom in on my front door in google maps. To me, that’s amazing and I don’t worry that anybody’s out to get me.
I’m totally impressed by the stuff I’ve found there. Like I can zoom in on the housetops of the little village my ancestors came from in western Bohemia. And there are pictures posted there from a local photographer.
Maybe you’re younger than I am but in my childhood, I never would’ve believed we’d have this much easy access to such great information and visuals.