Off-topic: Census worker run-in

[JG EA]

Thanks Outwest and Bees. I was beginning to think I was acquiescently lily-livered to just fill it out and send it back in.

[AJsTax]

Just want to add one quick comment. I live in a fairly poor, Appalachian county. I grew on the farm and as a person involved in outdoors activities such as hunting and still do on a weekly basis, so I guess you could say I am about as much a red-necked hillbilly as you could find and I am opposed to much of what government tries to do to us.
BUT!! I feel it is my DUTY to fill out correctly and completely and to return the census to the appropriate authorities as soon as I receive it. I sent it back within a couple days.

If you refuse to fill it in, that is your choice, but my OPINION and only my opinion, is shame on you and you do not retain the right to vote if you refuse to take part in the one exercise that fairly determines how many representatives and how big of a piece of the pie we get when the bean counters divvy up the money.

[BOB W]

I think you are missing the point...what other use will this administration use the info provided..? Most feel that our privacy can be violated based on current "double talk" coming from Washington, Not to mention the intent of Washington, redistribution of our assets.

[dkss]

Wow, start throwing the pies at me! This year for an educational experience, I took the Census test and was offered a temp job as an enumerator. I have been going around my little town trying to complete questionnaires. I have yet to meet anyone that flat out refused to answer the questions. It is true that if you refuse to anwser any of the questions, we are obligated to get the answers from a proxy such as a neighbor.
Personally, I don't see anything too intrusive that the government couldn't get already from another source. As we all know, the government asks us to give much more personal information every year on our 1040's, so what is wrong with a little info every 10 years?
BTW, you can politely refuse to answer individual questions, such as age, DOB, race, and sex.

[BHoffman]

Great solution to pesky problems! I always wanted a sound system close to all entries of the house with the sound of a shotgun being pumped or whatever that action is called.

You "rack" a shotgun. It is a soul fulfilling sound and a real attention getter.

No home is complete without a nice Mossberg 500 12 gauge pistol grip. Adds to any decor and makes a perfect gift

[veritas]

Is it too

Wow, start throwing the pies at me! This year for an educational experience, I took the Census test and was offered a temp job as an enumerator. I have been going around my little town trying to complete questionnaires. I have yet to meet anyone that flat out refused to answer the questions. It is true that if you refuse to anwser any of the questions, we are obligated to get the answers from a proxy such as a neighbor.
Personally, I don't see anything too intrusive that the government couldn't get already from another source. As we all know, the government asks us to give much more personal information every year on our 1040's, so what is wrong with a little info every 10 years?
BTW, you can politely refuse to answer individual questions, such as age, DOB, race, and sex.

late to mail in the census forms? Honestly the main reason I didn't send it in was it came right in the midst of tax time. I was having a tough time and one more government form to fill out was just too much.

I'm not going to answer the race, dob questions though.

[dkss]

too late to mail

veritas,
yes, it is too late to mail a completed form, as our lists have already been determined and printed. BUT, if you keep the completed form, when the census worker shows up you can hand them the form. We are supposed to accept it if it is complete and turn it in to our crew leader. Another BUT, we are also supposed to ask if we can go ahead a complete a new questionnaire: you can politely refuse!

[Bees Knees]

I'm not going to answer the race, dob questions though.

From Wikipedia:

The OMB states that “many federal programs are put into effect based on the race data obtained from the decennial census (i.e., promoting equal employment opportunities; assessing racial disparities in health and environmental risks). Race data are also critical for the basic research behind many policy decisions. States require these data to meet legislative redistricting requirements. The data are needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act by local jurisdictions."

"Data on ethnic groups are important for putting into effect a number of federal statutes (i.e., enforcing bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act; monitoring and enforcing equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act). Data on Ethnic Groups are also needed by local governments to run programs and meet legislative requirements (i.e., identifying segments of the population who may not be receiving medical services under the Public Health Act; evaluating whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority populations under the Community Reinvestment Act).”

You may not like it, but many federal laws have been enacted by our democratically elected officials that deal with race. One federal law, for example, the Civil Rights Act would be difficult to enforce without statistical data from the census. This is not a political argument. It is simple fact. If you want to pass laws in this country to stop civil rights abuse and prevent discrimination based on a person’s race, then you need to gather statistical data to enforce and regulate these laws.

[JohnH]

If I had to refuse, I would do so politely because that's my usual nature. But what if I were not in the mood to be polite on that particular day and I refused in a cranky, obnoxious manner? Does that somehow negate the refusal or somehow open the door leading to a retaliatory threat to poll my neighbors? Just curious.

[gkaiseril]

I would be more worried about how your state, county and municipal governments handle your data!

The Secretary of States and DMV departments routinely sell your name and address. At one time many had you SAN prominently displayed on your diver's license.

You should also consider how other government agencies handle your data. The VA had a big leak in data handling by an independent contractor. And that included Social Security Numbers because the DOD used SSN as service numbers. They have since changed that policy.

Homeland Security has now required all residences to be on named streets and be assigned an address number. My brother lived on a fire lane in Maine and had only a RFD box. Now he has a house number and a street.

Have you ever looked at your credit report and the amount of personal data that it contains?

How about those special 'value' cards for grocery stores, office supply stores, etc. Not only do you get a discount but you give the store information about your shopping habits.

[veritas]

I would be

veritas,
yes, it is too late to mail a completed form, as our lists have already been determined and printed. BUT, if you keep the completed form, when the census worker shows up you can hand them the form. We are supposed to accept it if it is complete and turn it in to our crew leader. Another BUT, we are also supposed to ask if we can go ahead a complete a new questionnaire: you can politely refuse!

polite. These are people from my neighborhood doing their job. I don't intend to make it more difficult.

Your job must be interesting.

[veritas]

In my state

I would be more worried about how your state, county and municipal governments handle your data!

The Secretary of States and DMV departments routinely sell your name and address. At one time many had you SSN prominently displayed on your diver's license.

someone stole the entire database from the DMV some years ago. Government looking out for us.

[DTS]

Wow, start throwing the pies at me! This year for an educational experience, I took the Census test and was offered a temp job as an enumerator. I have been going around my little town trying to complete questionnaires. I have yet to meet anyone that flat out refused to answer the questions. It is true that if you refuse to anwser any of the questions, we are obligated to get the answers from a proxy such as a neighbor.
Personally, I don't see anything too intrusive that the government couldn't get already from another source. As we all know, the government asks us to give much more personal information every year on our 1040's, so what is wrong with a little info every 10 years?
BTW, you can politely refuse to answer individual questions, such as age, DOB, race, and sex.

No one is throwing pies at you. I have a friend who is doing Census work this year. She enjoys it very much and is making some add'l money that will pay for some things she wants to do. Not sure what amount she is making, but she's happy to have the chance to do it. I have no doubt you do, as well.

I did answer the question of how many people in the house and mailed it in. I feel I have done my obligation.

I asked the gal that showed up a simple question, which was what I was legally obligated to answer and she got in my face with the crack about getting the info from the neighbors. The crack about the neighbors threw me over.

One of my "three neighbors" was visited by her later that night. He was told "five neighbors". So, the intimidation is getting more intense.

[DTS]

You "rack" a shotgun. It is a soul fulfilling sound and a real attention getter.

No home is complete without a nice Mossberg 500 12 gauge pistol grip. Adds to any decor and makes a perfect gift

Yes it is! Glad you know why I want it...these drab walls

[ChEAr$]

BUT!! I feel it is my DUTY to fill out correctly and completely and to return the census to the appropriate authorities as soon as I receive it. I sent it back within a couple days.

Now how could you have done that? (grin!) After all, it asked for information on people residing in the household on April 1st. I felt duty bound to wait until April 1st for accuracy's
sake, wondering if my wife's daughter might just decide to get her own place! (grin)