2010 Census

As a long time Census worker I can comment on that.  The extra questions are normal.  They are for statitical analysis and are pretty much tailored by the ruling political party's interests when it comes to extra details.  not some government plot--just policy of government can affect if a new category of question arises.  As long as it is demographic in nature, it can be part of the census.

The White House taking an interest in it is another matter entirely.  unprecedented and a slippery slope.  In WWII, Roosevelt ordered the FBI to get names and addresses of individual Japanese-Americans.= from the census buerau.  The census refused to release the information (which they are prevented from by law and always have been).

What isn't being talked much about (other than what I saw on Fox tonight) is the switch back to a paper accounting in the middle of this census.  The handheld units worked quite well and it did speed things up significantly.  What bogged the tech side down (and why they are back to paper now) is poor planning in the amount and bandwidth of the main frame computers that store and handle all the data.  Buggy software which resulted from old hands in the census wanting to go back to paper (internally, using HH's was contraversial) and who kept demanding that the handheld manufacturere keep rewriting and redistributing new software "on demand" for the duration of the census.  they had not paid or contracted for such support and when the company refused to continue it, the government accounting offfice investigated and ruled they were in the right and did not need to do so.

About the time the HH's were phased out, the najority of computer problems had been corrected.  Was all political.

I say fill out the questions you are comfortable with and not any you are not. I don't mind answering some of the others, but a few I won't be filling out either.

It's a free country.  The main thing is people get physically accounted for--do you live here?  That affects the states ina serious way....repreesentation in Congress being one, federal funds another, etc., etc.

I don't get why people are so freaked out just by a few simple questions. I received my census in the mail and I'll be filling it out, especially the important ones that SIN-Imperium mentioned. Some people are just so paranoid. Seriously, most of the questions are pretty impersonal. If they want to know how much I make, who cares. The IRS already does. When you think about it, the questions they are asking if they really wanted to know those things, they could find them out anyway. If someone really wanted to know the information asked in the census for "spying" purposes, there really isn't anything to stop them from finding out without too much hassle.

At least this information is going toward benefitting the common citizen, unlike the information from the PATRIOT Act that is going toward "protecting" us.

Thanks for the writeup of the census, Sin-Imperium.  Very Enlightening.

I will say that in 2000 I got the long form.  This year the short form.  2000 was the first time I got the long form.  I did fill it out both times, but like in 2000, I do not think they will like all my answers.

Yeah I live in the US. I just don't want to give them my phone number. I don't get telemarketing calls anymore and the only bothersome calls I get now are mostly survey calls which I actually answer having done that kind of work before. I am not "freaked" out, and I am actually looking forward to answering a few because I am hoping I am hoping my area gained a little more diversity since the last numbers were posted. It seems like I see a few more like faces around here these days.

As you said. It's a free country, and I am not going to judge people who choose not to answer all the questions even if i answer most of them myself. I am not that self-centric.

It's every American's patriotic duty to lie completely to the U.S. census department. You answer truthfully to these folks at your own peril. The bureaucrat in here will probably tell you that this is highly illegal and could land you in jail / prison. To this I remind you, "When a government fears its people, it is a democracy. When the people fear the government, it is a tyranny."

Lie lie, then lie some more.

And when you're done lying, lie for someone else.

No, don't necessarily lie. Say that you are N+1 people, have a poor school system, are all vegetarians, and shop in small stores only or when possible.

Then, if any of these things are false, lie in order to make them true (as in, say this no matter what the truth is).

THen, sir, you are correctly filling out a census.

I don't work for the census, but analyze the data from similar types of surveys.  Each person will get an ID, I'll never know your name, never know where you come from, never be able to tie any of your question responses to you, and honestly, I don't give a damn about any particular person.  I love all the paranoid people.  

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Too many personal questions this time. I saw on the news they only need to know how many people live at your address as it saids in the Constitution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=matl8i9kc7w

If you want to be paranoid, they'll use the data like WWII Germany did to the Jews. Send people of certain races/religions to FEMA camps in the US to be killed in WWIII.

YW.  I worked it ten years ago and was part of the group that brought out, tested and ran the handhelds this time around.  I'll be doing field work this coming week for a couple of months.  Dubai actually did its own census with those very same handhelds and it went wonderfully.  The U.S. Census had issues because when they set up the computer network for the entire country it relied on a central bank of servers and storage computers and they automated everything thought it--Windows, Office suites, the proprietary handheld software, the third party callling programs--it was a mess and they completely underestimated development time, bandwidth needed and staff required to maintain.  The technology worked, it just wasn't thoroughly tested and proofed before going live and started with modified software that was constantly in flux.

In WWII, the census DIDN'T  give out personal info. The Census director told the president of the United States, "No".

The "extra" questions people freak about are regarding things the current governments (including states) have targeted as affecting budget concerns.  Same sex couples as an example will allow them to set a dollar cost if states or the fed allow same sex marriage.  How much will it cost?  What programs will it take?  With the info they get they can determine what it will cost if new laws are enacted.  That's a bipartisan agenda though the particular issues looked at are a reflection of where legislation might be heading.  The census doesn't cause that, just evaluates the impact. Same thing with illegal residents.  They try to estimate how many are in the healthcare system, etc. so they can determine how it effects budgets and the economy--not to ID and hunt them down and deport them.

A census is actually mandated by federal law and takes a constitutional amendment to alter or do away with and its personal identity information is by law confidential and not releasable to other government agencies.  The Founding Fathers initiated it and the first one was overseen by the vice president and 14 or so deputies who used about 500 local sherrifs and the like to go door to door with a tally sheet.  We have computers now and a lot more sophisticated infrastructure that governemnt finances so the questions have changed.

I also hear that great organization called ACORN is helping on the data crunching.

You know how I answered the race questions.... AMERICAN!  The US is a nation of immigrants, the Democrats obsession with race has got to stop.

Except that American is a nationality, not a race.

'Human' is a better answer, I would think.

I think "American" is fitting as a race. Its like Creole, but far more abstract.

I wouldn't think race was important either... if i was white. Since I am not, I get fairly frequent reminders how important it is. You'd have to have blinders on to think the only people who obsess about race is in one political party.

The census actually gets a lot of: "Race...Alien/Extraterrestrial" responses...which requires a follow up phone call and a visit if not answered to verify.  So far, no confirmed aliens/extraterrestrials.

Of course race is important. Hell, politics, Socio-economics, and family dynasties are all incredibly important.

Just look at the former Empire of Alexander the Great.

After he died, one general took over Greece and Macedonia (The Western World), one General Took over the Selucids (Middle East), and another general took over Egypt (North Africa).

The West of course eventually expanded their cultural influence on a massive scale, while the Middle East was, at first, far more sucessful than the west. And if you think about it, North Africa kind of plays to its own tune, even though Egypt could be considered part of the Middle East for religious reasons if nothing else. Its almost a Moors, Saracens, Catholics division.

And, while the Northern Europeans are quite racially different, for the longest time most Mediteranneans were more or less the same racially.

In the end, its truly your own mind's perception that brings race to a certain level of importance within yourself. However, I AM white, was born into the upper-middle class, and was born an American citizen in THE SOUTH!!!! so ... yea I can't exactly expect you to feel empathetic about my racial views, or to even believe that "The Mind preceeds all Experience". Cause it will just sound like some high and mighty self-righteous judge who hasn't suffered an ounce of racial pain (HIS) entire life.

My response was mostly geared towards SivCorp. I wouldn't dismiss someone's life experience regardless of what race he or she is. My experience is when someone says race doesn't matter, race shouldn't matter, or people spend too much time on race, it's usually coming from the mouth of a white man, here in America that is. Racial issues  manifest themselves in a variety of way such as in Japan which is still a lot more subtle and easily missed if you aren't aware of the problem. (I lived in Japan for a little bit).

So did I, and race is very important to the Japanese.

Race is only important when one wants to make a certain race more important than another, for whatever reason.

And for whichever reason - making one race more important than any other, is simply racism.

Which means that when the Census asks for your race, they are simply being racist for racist means.

What sub race ? Cherokee, Cheyenne, Choctaw, Comanche, Iroquois,...

The indian are the true American, i think !!!

:p :p :p

Then, Thoumsin, perhaps the only Indians that should allow to call themselves Indian are the true-blooded Indus River Valley indians, cause, you know, most of the Modern Indians come from a lineage of inter-marriage between Aryans and Indus.

Cause, one of the Aryan tribes migrated from the Caspian sea to India, and that destroyed the Indus River Valley Civilization (they got conquered and enslaved/integrated) and kickstarted the new Caste System of India which transmigrated to the river ganges. (the aryans started the Caste Sytem Warriors > Priests > Commoners).

so, technically Indians are Aryan/Indians?

Also, the Saracens/Mamluks/modern Day Iraqi and Iranians are descended from the second Aryan tribe. They were the first to use heavily armored horse archers.

The aryans were simply a warlike nomadic tribe of IndoEuropeans who originiated in culture around the Caspian Sea. They migrated south initially, and then some went back Northwest.

Yes, I realize that aryan is practically a Dirty Word and I hope you will realise I am only being historical and am not trying to start a flame war. I think some people would be interested to hear that the "aryan" cutural background sprung forth many different races and modern cultures. I think it only strengthenes my point that we are all originally related.

If you wanted to talk about "Native Americans" then maybe you should call them Russian.

Or, if you go back even farther, we are all technically African.

So everyone is related ... and I see no reason why a person who feels justified in their racial background to put "American" instead of whatever their racial origin happens to be.

A census is, a polling of your life is not.  That is why I do give them enough information (and accurate) to comply with the constitution.  They have to know how many people they got.  They do not need to know what we eat for breakfast, or how much we spend on cars.

I totally agree.  American is not a race.  Human is.

Eh, not really.  It was not called America when they roamed freely.  It was named America after one Italian figured out the other Italian had screwed up.  They could more accurately be called Kansans, Iowans, or similar names since those state names are actually derived from their language with a basis in what they were calling the land.

Do note though: No one can by law compel you to answer census questions.  You are completely free to refuse to answer any questions you find intrusive...while forcing you to purchase health care coverage on the other hand seems perfectly acceptable.  Go figure.