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2010-03-19 7:11 PM
in reply to: #2732500

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Veteran
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Findlay OH
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense

My biggest complaint is the letter I received telling me the census form was coming.  Seems like a big waste of money. 

 

 



2010-03-19 8:17 PM
in reply to: #2736673

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Master
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Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
iceit99 - 2010-03-19 8:11 PM

My biggest complaint is the letter I received telling me the census form was coming.  Seems like a big waste of money. 

 

 



sending out advance letters is a standard practice in survey research because it increases the response rate. increasing initial cooperation with the census means it isn't a waste of money because it costs less to send a letter than it does to pay a census worker to call you or come to your house.

according to this article, it cost $85 million to send out the letters and follow-up postcards. these will increase initial by participation by up to 12%. for each percent increase, that saves $85 million that would have to be spent on sending workers into the field.

option 1: send out the letters, spending $85 million. increase the response rate by 10%. save $850 million on census workers.

option 2: don't send out the letters, saving $85 million. response rate 10% lower. spend $850 million on census workers.

2010-03-19 9:49 PM
in reply to: #2736529

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Master
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Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
swgraham - 2010-03-19 5:46 PM
moondawg14 - 2010-03-19 7:36 AM
bootygirl - 2010-03-16 9:17 PM

I looked at a form today and could not help but laugh.    Question 2 is ridiculous in light of the instructions of Question 1.   

Question 8 and 9:  Ok, I can understand why "hispanic" is not a race as people from "hispanic" countries are of many races.   However, my employees asked me what they should put for #9.   They are "hispanics from Mexico" - not white, not black, not affiliated with any Native American Indians.  I told them I didn't know.

I am OK telling the government of the existance of two people in my household, but I don't want to give our names or tell them if we own or rent.    And  don't want to give my phone number.   

What happens if you return a partial form?   Do they take away your birthday?



Up to $100 fine for incomplete form.

Up to $5000 fine for fraudulent form.


If you don't want to fill out the form, fine.    If you ever want to crab about any lack of services that you feel the government should have provided you..... think back to that empty form and STFU.   (not directed at OP, in general at the "I don't want to fill out this 'private' info" crowd.)


During the last census, my husband and I only filled out the number of people in our household and left the rest of the form blank. We decided that the govt didn't need to know anything other than that in order to make "census based decision"

We received mutliple phone calls and 3 visits from census workers. Ended up we did not fill out the rest of the form and did not get fined.

We are discussing how to fill it out this year. The one benefit that we have now that we didn't have then is that we have a totally fenced yard with multiple dogs (including a pit bull mix) so very few people make it to the front door uninvited.
Wink


By not filling out simple information that can be found online by anyone with a credit card, you cost taxpayers 10 to 100x more than I did.  Congrats. 
2010-03-20 12:42 PM
in reply to: #2732689

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Expert
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West Palm Beach, FL
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
bel83 - 2010-03-17 11:31 PM 
That whole race thing comes up at my work. What we tell those we are working with is if you are hispanic from Mexico, you are considered Caucasian.


That doesn't really make a lot of sense when the  majority of Mexicans are mixed race, or "mestizo".  I've been marking "other" on forms that ask for race for as long as that option has been available.  I think that choice is becoming more common as time goes by.  For my kids they're going to have a hard time finding a box that reads "Mexican/Filipino/Argentine/Belgian with traces of Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Dutch and English".  It's yet another slight perpetrated by the gov't on the Belgiantinian Mexipino community.
2010-03-20 12:57 PM
in reply to: #2732500

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Alpharetta, Georgia
Bronze member
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
For the life of me I can't understand the conspiracy theory attitudes about the census. Is there any basis to it, or is it just unfounded paranoia?

This thread has left me scratching my head for sure...

 

  
2010-03-20 1:43 PM
in reply to: #2737361

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Sneaky Slow
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Herndon, VA,
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
lisac957 - 2010-03-20 1:57 PM For the life of me I can't understand the conspiracy theory attitudes about the census. Is there any basis to it, or is it just unfounded paranoia?

This thread has left me scratching my head for sure...

  


I have the answer to this.  It's not unfounded paranoia, trust me.

But...

I cannot reveal it here.  I am sure they're watching.  I've probably said too much already.  They're always watching.  Don't keep asking questions, or they will come for you as well.


Edited by newleaf 2010-03-20 1:44 PM


2010-03-20 5:25 PM
in reply to: #2732500

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Expert
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Woodland, California
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense

I had to ask my mom about my Hispanic origin, and I found out that I'm at least 1/8 Tarahumara.  So why do I suck so bad at running?  (don't answer that)

Seriously.  The form took 5 minutes to fill out.  I don't see what the big deal is.  You don't even have to pay the return postage.  The gov't WILL get the info one way or another, and reporting it yourself costs a lot less.



Edited by froglegs 2010-03-20 5:28 PM
2010-03-20 6:54 PM
in reply to: #2732500

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Expert
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Wellington, North Island
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
I don't understand the concern with providing basic information either. The information is used to make decisions about things like how many schools a community needs, emergency services, funding for transportation and roadway projects, or whether communities are adequately represented in government.

And information about age, race/ethnicity, home ownership, etc is available in aggregate on the website, which allows people like researchers and others to look at whether health issues, employment, and others social issues are affecting certain groups of people or communities at different rates, and how demographics and socio-economic indicators have changed over time.

It only takes a few minutes and it provides such valuable information.
2010-03-20 9:42 PM
in reply to: #2732500

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Pro
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the Alabama part of Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
The local paper ran an article today reinforcing the need to fill out the forms.  One of the things they pointed out was that if you are concerned about government wasteful spending, not filling out the form costs the government about 10-20 times more to count you than if you just respond to the all the mailings and other notices out there.  And also if you are concerned about "government intrusion" in your life, just send the d*mn form in and they won't send an actual government worker to count you in person!
2010-03-21 9:51 AM
in reply to: #2732500

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Payson, AZ
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
Hum, and here I was all excited to do my census.

This reminds me of when debit cards came out and you could pay using your debit card.  One of my friends refused to pay with it cause he didn't want the government to know what he was buying.  Um, if the government finds it important to know that I just had a smoothie then more power to them.  Unless your doing something wrong really, who cares.
2010-03-25 10:53 AM
in reply to: #2737804

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Subject: RE: census questions make no sense

MissKelly - 2010-03-20 7:54 PM

And information about age, race/ethnicity, home ownership, etc is available in aggregate on the website, which allows people like researchers and others to look at whether health issues, employment, and others social issues are affecting certain groups of people or communities at different rates, and how demographics and socio-economic indicators have changed over time.

This!  As a researcher, census data has been really valuable in figuring out whether a study that we do in a community (say, a phone survey), represents the actual composition in terms of age, gender, and race/ethnicity.  It also lets us "weight" the data so we can make estimates about the feelings or behaviors in a community.  Now, the Hispanic/Race thing can be quite frustrating- as people have noted many Hispanics don't identify with being either caucasian or African-American, but we end up combining things together. 

Also, the frequent mailings people complain about (you will be getting...you just got...etc), are a documented way to improve response rates for any mailed survey; the government is following a pretty standard protocol to reduce the number of people it has to hire and send out into the field. 



2010-03-25 11:22 AM
in reply to: #2747850

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Pro
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MA
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
So why is being "hispanic" get separate attention? 

Yesterday I went to a Red Cross blood drive.  As far as I know I am 100% Asian, so I fill in the info as such.  DUring the interview the vounteer asked "I see you checked Asian.  So you're not Hispanic?" 
I wanted to laugh.  Guess I can be 1/2 asian and 1/2 hispanic, or other combination.  But why emphasize on the "hispanic" part? 
2010-03-25 12:10 PM
in reply to: #2747954

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Champion
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PA
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
D.K. - 2010-03-25 12:22 PM So why is being "hispanic" get separate attention? 

Yesterday I went to a Red Cross blood drive.  As far as I know I am 100% Asian, so I fill in the info as such.  DUring the interview the vounteer asked "I see you checked Asian.  So you're not Hispanic?" 
I wanted to laugh.  Guess I can be 1/2 asian and 1/2 hispanic, or other combination.  But why emphasize on the "hispanic" part? 


I just know that it has nothing to do with it being the fastest growing voting group. 

I filled mine in last night.  Honestly, with 4 people, it still takes less than a min.  Being an IT person, I did smile when they asked for DOB AND age.  Seriously, enter it into the system and let it do the math.  It didn't take long to fill out but programmers should understand where I'm coming from. 

I don't find the census as being very intrusive.  It doesn't ask about income levels, education levels, SSN#, or anything like that.  I couldn't even list my pups, cats, or bird and there was nothing about my guns or whether I owned a bible.  I felt a bit like they just didn't care.
2010-03-25 12:36 PM
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2010-03-25 12:45 PM
in reply to: #2748225

Alpharetta, Georgia
Bronze member
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
trotpntbll - 2010-03-25 12:36 PM I said I was an American, it was either that or all of the 'races.' I refuse to be called white, I'm American, we are all Americans, why do we still label each other as _____-Americans?


According to 2010.census.gov, this is why:

Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?

Asked since 1970. The data collected in this question are needed by federal agencies to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as under the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. State and local governments may use the data to help plan and administer bilingual programs for people of Hispanic origin.

What is Person 1's race?

Asked since 1790. Race is key to implementing many federal laws and is needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. State governments use the data to determine congressional, state and local voting districts. Race data are also used to assess fairness of employment practices, to monitor racial disparities in characteristics such as health and education and to plan and obtain funds for public services.

 

2010-03-25 12:56 PM
in reply to: #2732500

Pro
4612
20002000500100
MA
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
Being a foreigner AND a US citizen, I think the question of ethnicity is valid. 

In areas where there are more "minorities" (oxymoron?  More and "minor") there may be higher demands in bi-lingual professionals e.g. teachers, healthcare providers, or simply interpreters. 
While many of us are fluent in English on a daily basis, we might not be able to clearly describe or understand something more technical (e.g. medical terms, specific names of automobile parts etc). 

ALso, as someone stated above, having a general idea of who live where is good for research purpose. 


2010-03-25 2:52 PM
in reply to: #2732500

Master
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Tyler, TX
Subject: RE: census questions make no sense
I had my 13 yr old daughter fill out the census for us, partly as a civics lesson, partly because I didn't feel like it....

She had to ask for help with her race and ethnicity.  While she and her mother were meant to check the box Hispanic-Mexican, my daughter doesn't identify as Mexican so she didn't know which box to check (FWIW, she speaks Spanish well and visits her grandparents in Mexico most every year).

And then she had to identify her race, from which she had to choose between white, black, etc., but nothing remotely describing her skin color.  So I told her just to write in Hispanic, though that isn't actually a race.  Nor is Latino for that matter.  I know the census people are trying to break down Hispanics into different races, but I think they made it confusing for non-white/black Hispanics!

Then she had to describe me, which she also had trouble with.  I'm of a mixed race background, for which there wasn't a category.  Whenever I have to choose, I choose Asian, or for this census Japanese.  There are so many mixed race people in this country the census bureau should really needs to make it easier for us to describe ourselves rather than to fit into their nice boxes!

Brian

   
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