Does the Census Bureau go too far?
There is controversy surrounding a government agency and what it wants to know about you.
The agency is the U.S. Census Bureau.
Each year it sends out its American Community Survey. One in every 40 American households will receive it, but some say the Census Bureau is going too far in what it asks, while using heavy handed tactics to get you to fill it out.
The survey asks who lives in your home, how much you earn, the amount of your mortgage or rent, even what time you leave for work.
Cindy Baldwin said she filled out the survey, fearing the government would come after her if she didn’t. And she was right. There is a legal obligation to respond. Anyone who refuses could be fined up to $100 and the Census Bureau will follow up with a phone call to their home. There could even be a knock at the door to get the answers. Those giving false information could be fined up to $500.
The only purpose of the census should be to determine population for voting districts. Nothing more. Besides, what about that right to privacy? If it protects abortion, it should protect me from not telling the .gov what time I leave for work.
Update: Apparently, the census folks are pushy too.
February 8th, 2006 at 9:41 am
I agree that the heavyhanded tactics used to coerce people into filling out the census, but let’s not get crazy and say the “only purpose of the census should be to determine population for voting districts”
The data from the census is used as a demographic base in countless areas of research..
February 8th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Having worked one miserable summer for the censes bureau I am conflicted about this. On one hand, I can see SUs point regarding privacy, and “mission creep”. On the other hand, the data is extremely useful for all kinds of extremely practical applications and the marginal cost to collect the extra data is a fraction of what it would cost to collect individually. I can completely understand the government wanting to take advantaged of this constitutionally mandated censes to gather additional data in a way that is uniquely cost effective.
That said I am trying to figure out if I have posed about my experience working for the census that summer which really undermines the argument I have just presented, long story short, the quality control on data collection is dodgy at best and fraudulent at worse (and this is coming from someone who now admits, from the safety of statute of limitations, of perpetuating the fraud).
February 8th, 2006 at 10:23 am
I was assaulted by the CB last summer, if you recall.
The story is here:
http://www.lookingglass.mi.org/web_blog/archives/000493.html
They aren’t nice or friendly.
I didn’t know about the fines. That’s total BS.
My right to privacy should trump that need for information.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Um…do you think these people are going to get MORE power or LESS? The gov does lots of projects like this, (and this one absolutely exists and is unbelieveable to experience: Are you an eskimo? What time do you leave for work? How many minutes is your morning communte? How many miles? Were you born in this country? What are your last five addresses? How much did the adults in the household make last year? Did they file IRS forms?)
This, the ATFU, the TSA, mandatory everything, taxes and fees tacked on to phone, water, gas, electric, cell phones, parking tickets….
It’s over folks. Every canary is graveyard dead. Please don’t be insulting by calling this a free country.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Uh huh
February 8th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Robert,
With the possible exception of the Eskimo questions (and ironically that question was central to my “fraud” when I worked for them that summer) and the financial questions you can at least see how valuable the other questions are for urban planners don’t you? I mean that data is exceptionally valuable to civil engineers in urban planning. Same things with questions like how many toilets you have and so on. From a perspective of privacy these things seem outrageous, but anyone who has to make decisions on regional transportation, and planning this information is extremely valuable for good decision making, something that is increasingly in short supply.
And if you object on privacy grounds (and I have a lot of trouble with this myself so please don’t assume I am necessarily defending the government here, I’m simply suggesting that there is more then one way to look at the issue), how would you go about collecting this data? Are you suggesting that private companies hired by the government would be a better option, are you saying that the data should not be collected at all and planning be don on a “best guess” basis? I don’t know the answer myself but I think that it deserves more then a waive of the hand.
February 8th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
I worked for the census once. Unless they’ve changed the laws since then, there are a few questions you are legally required to answer, and you can refuse to answer the rest. The legally required questions were the ones that are directly related to the constitutional purpose of Congressional districting: What is the address here, how many people were here on Jan 1, xx00, what were their names and ages, was this the principal residence of each person, and if not, what was their primary residential address? Note that names & ages, etc., are necessary to avoid double-counting of people with two residences or who were traveling on the official census date. E.g., a retiree with houses in Michigan and Florida would presumably fill out a form in Florida in December or January, which would state which house was his primary residence. Census workers in Michigan would note that no one answered at the other house. About June, another sweep would find this person in his summer house. If things went well, the data from Florida would have been transmitted, so all the worker needs to ask is whether there was anyone else who claims this house as a primary residence and was missed. If the Florida data still hadn’t been typed into the computers or something (and this happened!) we’d need to collect another form so eventually the computers could match up John Smith, age 75, in FL with a MI residence with John Smith, age 75, at that MI address and count just one Michigan resident.
For the rest of the questions, the CB trained us to be pushy – but you could refuse to answer. Those questions are asked to generate useful statistics, and adding them to the Census is the cheapest way to get those statistics with minimal sampling error, but I see nothing in the Constitution that allows the feds to require an answer. Incidentally, in about six weeks of doing the follow-up sweep in a resort area in Michigan, I only had one refusal to fill out anything beyond the minimum. This was a guy who started off by belligerently asking what had happened to the forms he filled out in Florida. And I agreed with him, privately.
Obviously the CB has to maintain some sort of cadre on the payroll during the 9 years between official censuses, and sending them out to do surveys makes a lot more sense than putting them in an office to re-read the census manuals over and over again, but there shouldn’t be any legal requirement to answer the surveys.
February 8th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
It’s pretty easy to just refuse to answer the census. Don’t send it back. They’ll send somebody to your door a few times to get you to answer it. Just tell them it’s a bad time. They get the hint eventually.
February 8th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
“Just tell them it’s a bad time. They get the hint eventually.”
No.They.Don’t.
Read the link I posted.
She did not stop coming to my house or calling my phone until her questions were answered.
She wasn’t nice, friendly, or considerate.
wrt urban planning, the localities could use traffic monitors and counters to determine when and how traffic is moving. Simply put a count box across all the roads in an area and on can tell how much traffic travels where.
Uncle’s category fits perfectly: Leviathan.
February 8th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
I’ll take Intrusive Questions for $100, Please.
February 9th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Jon, I was relating my own experience, but from your tale, it looks like they *did* get the hint… eventually. Of course, it was a little easier for me. I live in an apartment building and have no roommates. The doormen wouldn’t let them in to harass me, and my gf knows better than to talk to give personal information to strangers.
Give them no names, no numbers and no details.