"Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers .... The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."
-- Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States
The U.S. Constitution states that, for sake of taxes and appropriate representation in the House, a census is to be taken every ten years. Yet, the census in modern terms seems to spider out from the idea of an accurate head count of legal citizens; instead attempting to extract rather personal information on income, type of fuel consumed for heating purposes, and even daily commuting routines. The Census for 2010 has a number of questions regarding healthcare, and personal finances. The Census, many contend, is far from its original purpose. Representative Bachmann (R-Minn.) refuses to answer the majority of questions asked in the 2010 Census questionnaire. And she is not alone. Libertarian/Conservative pundit Glenn Beck also has raised concerns about the invasive nature of the information requested on the upcoming census.
The penalty for not fully completing the census is a $5,000 fine. But many argue the questionnaire exceeds its constitutional authority. (For a preview of the questions included on the 2010 census, click here.) The majority of the questions seem to be included to allow congress a glimpse into how to socially program their laws. More than that, there is concern about such personal information being abused, or manipulated by the organizations responsible for collecting the information. ACORN, the organization most recently ridiculed for its wide spread allegations of voter fraud, is among many non-profit organizations that will be assisting the Census Bureau in collecting data. Rep. Bachman noted the organizations involvement when citing reasons for not fully completing the questionnaire.
I am inclined to agree with Rep. Bachmann on this issue. The Census was designed as a tool to determine the number of representatives needed in the house from each state. Nothing in the constitutions deems collection of my personal information necessary. More importantly, I take issue with the idea of government requiring full participation in the census. The number of people living in the household is really all the more information I would be willing to give them. When the Census Bureau was confronted about concerns of personally sensitive information being reported, their response was that anonymity could be achieved by neglecting to fill out the name of the “head of household.” This is absurd. They sent the census out with a bar code that corresponds to the address and individual’s name.
Forcing the citizenry to reveal information such as the time they spend in traffic, and what time they leave the house, is quite frankly none of the government’s business. (I highly doubt most people would answer to a potential employer half the questions asked by the Bureau. I doubt most people would reveal half the answers to a neighbor or a media outlet. Why should we be forced to provide the government with such information?)
Petty though it may seem to some, the intent of the Census in 1790 was not to acquire an in depth look at the citizen’s life, rather confirm the representation was adequately in line with the population. Perhaps the government would do a great service to the people if they realized the intent of our founding fathers.
As Milton Freedman said, “There is nothing wrong with our country that a less intrusive and smaller government could not cure.”
For further information about how ACORN will be involved with the Census Bureau please watch the below video.
Comments
Michael,
The 2010 census is asking 6 questions: Tenure (rent/own), relation to head of household, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Those are not intrusive questions. You are confusing the census and the American Community Survey.
As to ACORN's involvement with the Census Bureau. . .
The Census Bureau has about 1,000 community partners who advise it (about 4 times a year) on how to reach different groups, sensitive issues, answer questions, etc. These groups are not on the payroll nor do they collect data. Any ACORN member could be hired as a temporary worker, but they would be hired on the basis of their skills in passing the qualification test, not their ACORN membership. They would be an employee of the Census Bureau at that point and would not be representing ACORN.
According to the regional office of the Census Bureau, you are required by law to answer the questions for the American Community Survey along with the questions for the census. (Regardless of any objections you may have.)
Also, ACORN is not an organization I feel comfortable with, and therefore have hesitations about their involvement in gathering information. Hope this helps, DR. Data.
Where did you get the amount of $5000? According to the Title Code I read, not answering the questions is a $100 fine, falsifying data is $500. Can you please cite your source of the $5000 figure?
You can go to the American Community Survey's website. The title 13 penalties were updated, from a fine not to exceed $100 to a fine not to exceed $5000. (askacs.census.gov) Hope this helps, Bob.
*Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 to increase the fine from $100 to $5000.
Representative Bachmann is right! Do not give your personal info to ACORN census takers! Do you think ACORN will gather all that valuble info and just hand it over to the census bureau?out!
Answer the first question(authorized by the constitution) then answer the rest by simply pleading the fifth! Lets see them win that one in court!
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