Why is it required by law to take the U.S. Census survey?
Asked by
AshlynM (
10684
)
March 15th, 2010
(This is a discussion.)
Isn’t it a violation of one’s privacy? Do the employees at the Census Bureau have to take this survey too?
Why do they threaten us with fines and possible jail time if we don’t oblige? Isn’t that against the 8th amendment, of no excessive fines?
Why do they need to know your race? How do I know another Holocaust isn’t going to happen?
Why exactly do they need to know what times you come and go for work? How do I know someone’s not going to rob my house when I’m gone?
It’s not like this is the SAT’s, an actual test. It’s just a cenus survey and should be voluntary…without all the pressure and threats.
Does anyone know if a petition has been started to stop this? Even if u do ignore it, I’ve heard a census taker comes to your house and makes u answer the questions anyway.
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20 Answers
Its in the constitution. I’ll try finding a reference.
I guess it wouldn’t be accurate if it was optional.
Failure to answer the questions only carries a $100 fine, Answering falsly carries a $500 fine. Imprisonment is no longer proscribed under the law (best I can tell)
13 USC Sec. 221
This page also has some good information on the requirement, but not the why of it.
Ah procrastination – if you wait long enough, others will do the job.
Of course it would be impossible to accuratley assign legislative districts without an accurate census. Democracy would be brought to its knees.
Mandated by the Constitution to determine representation in the House of Representatives. Regarding privacy-it depends on what they ask. It is not reasonable to expect that you can keep your existence a secret, but certain details about it are considered private.
The Constitution was drafted to include a requirement for it, partially as a way to maintain proportional representation, partly because the founders understood the importance of having good demographic information. It is a sign of how deep the political paranoia has become that there is any resistance at all to this fully benign program.
@dpworkin distrust of the government is a founding principle. its motives should always be questioned.
Yeah, great idea. Trust Big Pharma, Big Agro, Wall Street, the Insurance Industry, but freak out about the stupid census.
@dpworkin since when has the government made me feel as good as Viagra or a big Mac did?
Maybe what the goverment needs is a better PR department
Do the employees at the Census Bureau have to take this survey too?
Yes. They also eat food and breath air.
Is there a copy of the Constitution out there in Spanish, so the illegal immigrants will be informed of the law, regarading The Census?
@john65pennington You sound like a bigot. I hope it’s unintentional. All people living in the United States regardless of status are meant to be counted. Illegal immigrants are almost always undercounted, because of fear on their part. This leaves the government bereft of useful demographic information. Don’t be a jerk.
@john65pennington Yes: http://www.cato.org/pubs/constitution/constitution_en.html
Also, don’t forget what the Statue of Liberty says:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
For that matter, you should require that people speak Iroquoi.
OKay, i hereby delete my answer.
It was truly meant to be a serious question, not an intentional blast at the illegals.
Then the answer is that informational literature on the census is distributed in very many languages, including Inuit, Navaho, Hopi, Mandarin, Cantonese and even Spanish.
The reactionary hysteria over the census is healthy and should be encouraged. People who fall for such things shouldn’t be voting anyway, and, if the paranoia is strong enough, normal people will pick up some congressional seats .
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