Soon swarms of otherwise unemployed busybodies will begin wandering the streets of Albuquerque, invading your privacy and asking nosy and intrusive questions that no one needs to know the answers to. If you are only interested in whether things are "Constitutional" or not, then go ahead and answer the ONLY question the census is Constitutionally allowed to ask: how many people live in your house. Everything else that is asked is unconstitutional, which is a fancy way of saying illegal. No matter what "laws" have been passed in the intervening centuries "authorizing" the questions.
If you have any dignity and self-respect, then you will probably not answer any questions at all. After all, when the Constitution "authorizes" something wrong, the Constitution is wrong and is a force for evil.
The excuses used to justify the census are all statist excuses. Like saying they need to know how many children they will be locking up in the indoctrination centers in the coming decade. Like wanting to know how much effort the wealth redistribution schemes will be in the next ten years; where the money will be stolen from and where the vote-buying bribes will be concentrated. Or, so they will know how to gerrymander districts to manipulate the vote for those who still participate in that rigged game.
There is no legitimate reason for a census, and no good reason to voluntarily cooperate. Especially for anyone who values liberty.
At the very least, maybe a good case of "situational delirium" would serve you well. For example:
"Yes, we are a family of 17 Antarctican immigrants who belong to the Jedi Order, and live with our pets whom we have married in three-and-a-half-way marriages. We have no clue whose children these are living among us. We have 3 bathrooms, but no indoor plumbing. Our electricity is provided by our tank of electric eels. Our house has 197 3/4 rooms if you count the 8 other spatial dimensions which are wrapped around us. ...You've got a little string of 7th dimension on your elbow even now. Please don't take it with you when you leave, since that is where my archaeopteryx sleeps. But, it's time to bow to the carpet slugs now, so I must go. May you serve the picklewarts with gusto!"
You can probably think up better responses, but none is better than the one which trumps them all: ignore the census.
Comments
Just don't answer the questions. A very few people "may" face a fine of $100. for refusing to answer. Lies or cute idiocy such as suggested might well bring much more unwanted attention and, possibly, a fine of $500.
I intend to ignore them. Up to them to take the hint and go away.
You forgot to slip in the word Albuquerque into your article.
Sometimes it is just better to take the zero. Or the fine.
Come on, MamaLiberty, I'm trying to add a little levity! ;) I do think it's best to ignore them, but I wonder what I will do if someone I know is the census-taker, as may turn out to be the case. My questions may get answered with or without my compliance.
And, Toaster802- re-read the first sentence.
Good point Kent, just because you do not surrender your info doesn't mean someone else might not surrender it for you. People will do the darndest things for "your" own good!
You can trust everyone to be who they are, so make efforts to know who they are before its at your own expense;-)
I was one of the "lucky" ones chosen to be sent the American Community Survey. They sent it to me twice, and when I didn't answer it, they started telephoning, as often as five times in a 22 hour period. The Census Bureau seems to be trying to beat out the IRS and BATFU as the most hated .gov agency. Believe me, the questions they ask are an extreme invasion of privacy.
Couple days late and a few dollars short but I might choose to reveal only how many Americans reside at this location. No names, no ages, no nothing else, all of which can be had from dozens of gov and 'private sector' databanks. Be aware that the door knockers will ask your neighbors about you and vice versa, so have a working agreement with the folks on the block; 'I don't know you and you don't know me'.
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