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Your Tax Dollars At Work, U.S. Census Edition

By: Bill S (Diary)  |  March 9th, 2010 at 08:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

So I meander out to my mailbox this afternoon, and what should I discover but a letter from the U.S. Census.  Hmm, feels mighty thin, I say to myself.  So I open up the envelope and out drops this letter:

The Census has sent me a letter telling me that they’re going to send me a letter.  Brilliant!

I’m having a difficult time deciding if this letter is:

  1. Supposed to be helpful or informative in some way.
  2. A joke.
  3. Some sort of Obama stimulus plan for the postal workers
  4. My imagination.

I’m betting on option 3.

I think the gubmint probably figures that us rubes out here in the hinterlands will just say to ourselves “hey, it’s just funny money – the U.S. Census is a gubmint entity, and the USPS is kinda sorta part of the gubmint, too, so it probably didn’t cost them anything”  Well, except for the time that the mail dudette had to spend sticking all those envelopes in mail boxes and the gas it took to run the mail truck, the trees they had to kill for all of those letters and envelopes, etc.

I suppose the environmental aspects of this never occurred to anyone.  A letter, telling me I’m going to get a letter.  I hope the enviro-wackos are having fun with this.

I think I’ll send them a letter telling them I got their letter about their letter.

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COMMENTS

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  • travelguy

    I received the same letter in my mail about a week ago. Today I came home to find a hand delivered census package hanging on my front door. Let’s see – spend $1 on postage or $10+ to have it hand delivered?

  • conservos
  • http://www.dcworksforus.com Kenny Solomon

    Then, since you never know what language you want to use or need to use each day, demand a receipt for your acknowledgment – in all those languages listed.

    Personally, I don’t expect a form….. I expect a visit…….. They ain’t gonna exactly like me and my ‘tude.

  • conservos
  • http://stixblog.com Black River Wolf

    today also. Glad to know they needed to send me a letter to say I am gettign a letter in a week. I might have missed it or something.

  • nivlem

    They have been running an advertisement in my area stating that they will not know how many students will be in school and how many supplies they will need if they do not fill out the census.
    Why do we need a local school board??

  • Adjoran

    The bastards!

  • http://online.logcabin.org/about/ suzieQ

    I’ve heard a lot of different things from my neighbors that has left me wondering if I even want to fill out the census.

    How is this information used? I don’t want to end up in some government database I don’t need to be in.

    I am a gun owner and a few of my firearms are not registered in my name (one was a gift the other I bought from a neighbor). Will this info get me in trouble on the census?

    I have donated to political groups that are (gasp) right-wing. To what extent is Obama going to use this info to claim I’m some “right-wing terrorist”?

    Altogether, I just don’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling about filling out this form. This is a prime example of big government.

  • Trelaina

    I got a letter before we got those checks stating that the checks were coming. I wonder what research told them that someone would pay attention to a little letter from the government more than a big package or an envelope that looks like it contains a check….

  • RedBeard

    When I worked in Corporate America, there was yet another [sigh] government push on to save the planet, the one designed to cut down on wasted paper. It was titled, if I recall correctly, the Paperwork Reduction Act.

    I still have, saved somewhere, an example of the governmental brain trust running that program. It is a one page purchase order for $30 in spare parts, stapled to a 4 page letter explaining the workings of the Paperwork Reduction Act,

    The amazing thing to me was that the people mandating that 4 page purchase order addendum (which came with every order for a period of months) saw nothing wrong with the procedure.

  • gwalt

    SuzieQ,

    Fill out the census as to how many are in family (husband, wife, kids, grandma?).
    I saw over at NRO’s Corner that on Question 9, check “other” and fill in American (vs. White, Black, etc.)

    Never fill in guns, income or anything you feel is an intrusion. It’s me, my spouse and my kids and we’re Americans. That’s enough.

    I don’t believe there is any law saying you have to give Micro info—just Macro. When the 2000 Census worker came around, he asked me my income. Not even reading anything about it, I naturally felt this was none of the Census’ business since I file and pay taxes. You guys already know how much I make.

    Anyone else have any thoughts?

  • rick554

    I got 2 of the exact same letters, both with the same address. I wonder if I’ll get 2 census forms too!

  • Scope

    I guess the unemployment rate will be down next month.

  • Sundayjack

    Brace for the avalanche. A billion dollars of stimulus funding just itching to be spent in new and exciting ways. Later in the year, you’ll have a well-dressed man or woman show up at your door to introduce you to the less-well-dress woman or man who will be returning soon to take your census. Then, a second well-dressed woman or man will show up to go through your information with you to check for correctness, and yet another later to thank you for participating.

    My fava beans and Chianti are ready and waiting.

  • RedBeard

    Fill ‘em both in, and increase the amount of “free” stuff the gubmint sends to your district.

  • Scope

    anyone misunderstood their unintelligible superbowl day expensive ad buy.

    I’m sure Obama will send out a tweet, to his followers, about the Census forms. He had to use the USPS to connect to the other 52-53% of those that have tuned him out.

  • Charles Cianfrocca

    maybe you have 2 people in the household? I live alone, and the only other person I compared notes with also lives alone. Maybe they send one for every man, woman, and child they think is in the house, for all I know… Yes, it would be ridiculous, but the government kind of is.

  • sacody

    to inform you that I will be hand delivering a package containing information about the email that I was going to send you. You will receive this package within 10-14 days. Thank you.

  • Brian Hibbert

    I got that letter yesterday, too.

    I bet I get 2 or 3 letters after they send the form, telling me they sent me the census form and asking me to be sure and fill it out correctly (unless I’m an Acorn member, then I’ll be told to add 5 to the number of people living here).

  • Scope

    website, there are 10 questions that you are required to complete-

    http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/U/USCensus.asp

    I wonder why # 3. “Whether or not the homeowner/leasers have mortgages or pay rent.

    As to #5- “Info about each person living in the household.” I am thinking only age, sex and race would be required.

    As to giving info about race, I saw a comment elsewhere that asked “Isn’t this racist”?

    From another government website, they claim “Census answers are required by Law.” The info here makes it appear that all questions on the Census must be completed, or you may be fined.
    Bulldonkey.

    http://www.usgovinfo.about.com/ad/censusandstatistics/a/answersrequired.htm

  • marshmom

    and also laughed when I saw all of the different languages at the bottom. I looked at my husband and said, “Russian?? No German? What about Braille? What about the illiterate gobs of zero liability voters who can’t read OR write?” Oh that’s right…they’ll send someone to their house to fill out their forms for them *wink, wink*. I’m sure all of those organizations working with the White House are completely ethical and honest.

    Thank goodness they sent that letter though. Otherwise, the census might actually show up unexpected or something. Gosh, what would’ve happened? Just another shining example of government waste and inefficiency.

    Oh, and by the way, I will only be answering the census per what the U.S. Constitution says about it.

  • Scope

    and they say, please answer all questions, because that’s how our community gets it’s fare share of federal monies. Isn’t that exactly what us conservatives are fighting against?

  • blugrass

    Kinda fits in with O’care push it seems.

  • Jeff Weimer

    Anything from Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution. It does not mention the true reason for the census, just the goodies you might get. Shameful.

  • gwalt

    I have a ton of those high rises with thousands of people living in them.
    I remember back in 2008, there were reports of employees assisting these folks with early voting—-only for Obama.

    There were some stories out there on people complaining. Perhaps county RNC/GOP folks should jump in to assist?

    If you have relatives/friends in those, then make sure they are assisted.

  • pac_NY

    I received my letter from the Census Bureau stating I will be getting my 2010 census form in a few days – and that was weeks ago.

    If I had the time, I would have been calling them several times daily since then asking where my 2010 census form is, as they did to me when I did not fill out and return the CSA census in October.

    But, unlike the census collectors, I have an actual job and put in very long hours making sure we can keep the roof over our heads.

  • alarm1201

    I’m a programmer for a government agency and we have a web app where a student or parent can go online to check the status of their Student Loans. They type in some basic data and the app spits out a few numbers on a printable form. Right now we are working on an addition to the program that will send a letter to each person who used the application informing them they have used it.

    The cost estimate is $60 million a year. We had one such app that due to human error printed about 150,000 letters to the same person.
    Fortunately it was caught before the letters were sent out.

  • buzzyboop

    I received a form that I filled out last month and sent back already? On top of that, the CB claimed that was the second form they sent me and if I didn’t fill it out, there would be a knock on my door?

    Go figure. Cheers, Frank

  • jdh770

    In, “O’ Brother Where Art Thou”, one of my favorite scenes is where the young boy, while holding the three strangers at rifle point, exclaims *proudly*:
    “I nicked the census man!”

  • jeepnpat1

    I plan to use my letter and envelope for kindling to start my campfire this weekend.

  • bonkey

    Nice little bit of video from a show called futurama:

    http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?title=bureaucrats-joy&videoId=156353

  • kyoufuu

    about the letter about the letter about another letter that’s about the final letter?
    Oh no, I’ve fallen into an infinite regress!

  • swamphermit

    I never got the “letter telling me that they?re going to send me a letter,” so I guess they did save some stamp money with me. A Census worker managed to find her way to the back of my property, drive over my newly installed septic tank and drain field, and then knocked on the door. I asked if it was normal for Census workers to come in from the rear of homes – driving over septic systems in the process – instead of using the front driveway…she said she was sorry and didn’t know. I took her name and office number…she gave me the Census form for a neighbor, and left. A few minutes later, I see her driving down the road in front of my house and stop at my neighbor’s mailbox. I went out and told her that she had given me that neighbor’s Census forms, and she then wrote me up a new form. Later that day, I called her office number and got some recording from a realtor’s office. Long story after that, but basically – several days later – I get a call from two Census women (one was an obnoxious realtor) trying to find my place, so they could take pictures and do a report on my septic system…

  • streiff

    The decennial census is one of the few government functions enumerated in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 2)

    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.

    .

    Sending a “look for it” letter in advance of the actual communication is easy to make fun of. Until you consider the fact that 1) it increases your initial response rate, which 2) drives down costs because you don’t have to send out actual human enumerators to collect the data.

    The census is important. No only is the size of your congressional district determined by it but it lets your state and county decide where to build roads, schools, hospitals, etc. Retail businesses select locations based on it.

    Feel free to make fun of it, I think their TV ads are simply the worst examples of the ad makers art I’ve ever seen, but cooperate with it.

  • johnt

    busy, all four thousand five hundred of them, making an average $80k a year, and all struggling to stay awake at their $1,000 desks.

  • RedBeard

    Or the dictionary, either. Words have meaning.

    e?nu?mer?ate? ?/??num??re?t, ??nyu-/ Show Spelled[ih-noo-muh-reyt, ih-nyoo-]

    ?verb (used with object),-at?ed, -at?ing.
    1.to mention separately as if in counting; name one by one; specify, as in a list: Let me enumerate the many flaws in your hypothesis.
    2.to ascertain the number of; count.

  • USNJIMRET

    Not only did I get that letter, but thought the exact same thing. They sent me a letter telling me I would be getting a letter.
    I believe I heard that the Census Bureau is expecting to contact something on the order of 120 million households in one fashion or another.
    If the letter so many of us have noted we received was sent to all those households, and if we can safely assume a buck per letter in total cost to send them, 120 million bucks spent to tell us something we almost certainly already knew!
    Evenly distributed across the 50 States, that’s 2.4 million that could have been given to the States for whatever.
    Or even not spent at all, thus reducing by some tiny percent, but reducing none the less, the deficit.
    This is just one more example of a bureaucracy bound Government that does nothing but spend, spend, spend.

  • streiff

    it isn’t like a bunch of schlubs at Census sat around, picking lice from each other’s hair , and dreamed this up. Every question in the census is required by one federal law or another.

    If you look at “intrusive” questions, the 1850 census started asking race, occupation, and place of birth.

    People are free to use their own prudential judgment on what if any questions they want to answer. But let’s not shoot the messenger here.

  • vamoose

    Since you received a hand delivered census package, then the letter stating that “you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail” is clearly wrong. (emphasis added)

  • Bill S

    And I am happy to entertain evidence that such a letter increases the response rate. Are there any studies you’re aware of that support that theory?

  • RedBeard

    Of course the census is important – no argument there, But the feds have once again grossly exceeded their constitutional authority by using the census for things other than counting Americans.

  • DamnCat

    Why is there no Braille translation?
    Why does the Census Bureau hate blind people?
    Why does Obama want to make sure blind people are under-represented?

  • earlgrey

    Of our tax return to the local post office and demand a refund for the postage. We are paying for it remember.

  • Bill S

    …on how such a “preemptive strike” might improve response to the actual Census. All I could find was speculative statements that it should improve the response rate…but no quantitative analysis and/or studies showing similar improvements in similar scenarios (it’s not like we have a census every month to do experiments…)

  • streiff

    is pretty basic direct mail/direct marketing stuff. The rule of thumb is that it takes three contacts with a prospect to get your message across.

    I have more than a little trouble even comprehending the objection to the idea that multiple contacts increasing response rates as there is a whole industry in America built around direct mail and direct marketing, but having worked at Census during the 2000 decennial I’m also forced to disbelieve the reams and reams of studies we commissioned as well as those in professional journals and textbooks and the results of the multiple tests we did of various combinations of mailings in prep for Census2000.

    Take if for what you will. Every large scale survey alerts potential respondents of their selection for the survey by direct mail. They do it at least once. They do it because it does increase response rates regardless if the actual survey is done by mail, telephone, or in person.

    Just because it’s not findable on Google doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

  • travelguy

    Census hiring blitz of 750,000 to cut jobless rate, offer boost to Obama

    The U.S. Census Bureau expects to add up to 750,000 workers to its payroll by May, a hiring binge that could knock the unemployment rate down by as much as a half-point.

    The once-a-decade census is coming at the best possible time for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, who have taken political lumps for more than a year over a jobless rate that stands at 9.7 percent.

    Complete story at:

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/85711-census-hiring-blitz-of-750000-to-cut-jobless-rate-boost-obama

  • Bill S

    I suppose if you’re an immigrant who’s not familiar with American society, culture, gov’t, etc. you might not know this, but I suspect a fairly substantial segment of the American population doesn’t need to be reminded of it. In fact, that’s why I have less issue with the foreign language translations on the form than some apparently do. They’re probably the ones that DO need the extra nudge.

    Sorry, but (admittedly, I am a sample size of one), I have never, ever received a letter telling me I’m gonna be surveyed. Ever.

  • texasgalt

    How can they waste more money?

    http://www.census.gov/schools/materials_for_schools/pre-k.html

    In Dallas the pay rate for a part time census worker is . . . . $17.50 per hour.

    www.2010censusjobs.gov

  • Common_Cents

    What great job creation! Giving the postal office some business sending a letter to notify of a letter. Hiring thousands to carry letters by hand. What great sustainable employment by the government!

  • vikingprincess

    They should change their name to the US $enseless…