2010 Census

[The Big Blue]

What, if any, info are you required by law to provide?

[langn08]

good question, I just got something in the mail about being "chosen" to participate... I wonder how much the govt is going to pay me for my time

[mikejet]

All it will ask will be the number of people in the household and general info. Nothing personal. I remember it last time and there were tons of ads telling illegal immigrants to not worry they just want to count them and not catch them

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by mikejet

All it will ask will be the number of people in the household and general info. Nothing personal. I remember it last time and there were tons of ads telling illegal immigrants to not worry they just want to count them and not catch them

...isn't the form very thorough? I thought it's a good 10 pages of personal information.

[LynxFX]

Originally Posted by langn08

good question, I just got something in the mail about being "chosen" to participate... I wonder how much the govt is going to pay me for my time

They will pay you by allocating more government funds and resources directly to your neighborhood.

[The Big Blue]

I think there are 2 differnet forms. Most will get a form with 10 questions and a few will get some beastly phone book size questionaire.

I love the fact that they waste our money sending us a heads-up letter. "Hey there! In about a week we're gonna send you some shi* in the mail. Be sure and keep an eye out for it."

[langn08]

HA! They would have to pay me a pretty penny to spend more than 3min on a government survey!

I guess it will go missing

[Meeklo]

....I will spend more time typing this reply then I will on that census form....could care less.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

What, if any, info are you required by law to provide?

Basically, how many people live in your home. They had fits counting the homeless last time around...

Some people hate the "gummint" and don't fill it in. Should do it, though....

This is how highways and roads, dams, water and power projects, law enforcement, and lots of other stuff gets planned.

Politicians try to goof around with the data, which is the reason the census gets a bad name, but about the only way to get the truth out is to tell it yourself. That's what the census does - give you an anonymous way to announce your presence, without one party or another, or some outfit looking for financial gain, presenting the data.

There's an address, and the people living there. All that other stuff...income, ancestry, all that...is irrelevant.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

I think there are 2 differnet forms. Most will get a form with 10 questions and a few will get some beastly phone book size questionaire.

I love the fact that they waste our money sending us a heads-up letter. "Hey there! In about a week we're gonna send you some shi* in the mail. Be sure and keep an eye out for it."

Correct. You are "required" to complete the 10 question form, though I'm not sure they'll get anything more than # of people and their ages living in my home out of me.

As for the phone book sized 'questionaire'? You are NOT obligated to fill that one out.

[Ferris]

To me, the census is a citizen's responsibility, the same way voting is. If you don't do it, or choose to submit a Christmas Tree instead of accurate information, you've got no right to complain about what's NOT getting done in your neighborhood/district. This information is used to allocate congressmen and re-align districts...

With that being said, I'm not going to enjoy doing it, but I'll do it accurately.

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

What, if any, info are you required by law to provide?

the way i understand it, you are not required "by law" to do anything, but they will send the form and ask nicely, theres really no way they can force you to fill it out and send it back in, all of the forms are sent to "resident" i believe, and if you dont feel like answering some of the questions on the form or feel that they are none of anyones business, then leave them blank, as long as you dont write down the phone number then they cant call and ask you to answer the remaining questions

[GreenScar]

Saw a report that if you don't answer the 10 questions, that's when they send people to your house and if after multiple tries they can't get you they'll ask neighbors.

I've always been out of the country when they've done the census so this will be my first.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Ferris

This information is used to allocate congressmen and re-align districts...

Yep. It certainly is!

Mod note: Edited. No politics.

[Silo5]

Originally Posted by jono_0101

the way i understand it, you are not required "by law" to do anything, but they will send the form and ask nicely, theres really no way they can force you to fill it out and send it back in, all of the forms are sent to "resident" i believe, and if you dont feel like answering some of the questions on the form or feel that they are none of anyones business, then leave them blank, as long as you dont write down the phone number then they cant call and ask you to answer the remaining questions

According to the following, you are required by law to participate in the census: https://ask.census2010.gov/cgi-bin/a...i=&p_topview=1. As far as the penalties, it doesn't specify.

[Clark Kent]

This will be a very important Census, because some feel that certain entities of a political leaning will attempt to influence the process as much as possible, at least more than in the past. The numbers are used to apportion House districts in Congress. Try to be as honest as possible, and answer the questions to the best of your ability. There is no reason to be afraid of Census questions or takers. The only possible danger to you would be someone posing as a Census taker to case your home or neighborhood.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

This will be a very important Census, because some feel that certain entities of a political leaning will attempt to influence the process as much as possible, at least more than in the past. The numbers are used to apportion House districts in Congress. Try to be as honest as possible, and answer the questions to the best of your ability. There is no reason to be afraid of Census questions or takers. The only possible danger to you would be someone posing as a Census taker to case your home or neighborhood.

That's why just fill out the form and no one will come by your house!

And what's with all the political talk in here? Let's keep that out of this shall we?

It's just counting the people in the country.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by mikejet

That's why just fill out the form and no one will come by your house!

And what's with all the political talk in here? Let's keep that out of this shall we?

It's just counting the people in the country.

That's a very naive statement. The ENTIRE purpose of the census is political. There's no other reason for it.

[Sussudio]

The OP states What, if any, info are you required by law to provide?. That should be the primary topic of discussion in this thread.

[TLeeTx2012]

We got our's yesterday. My fiancee was kinda excited about it...

She's already filled it out & it's back in the mail.