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March 22, 2010 at 10:17 pm #594275
GenHillOneParticipantAm I the only one who had a “that’s it?!” reaction when filling it out? Seems like a lot of time and money spent – multiple mailings, media blitz, actual processing – to get my name, age, and race. Really? Once every 10 years, all that effort, and there isn’t any other helpful data that could be collected? huh.
March 22, 2010 at 11:47 pm #690902
JanSParticipantI thought the same thing…I saw multiple pages, and then realized that all that other stuff was about the peeps who live in my head. I live alone…a coupla questions and done !!
March 23, 2010 at 12:48 am #690903
HelperMonkeyParticipantsame here. I was all prepared to sit down and fill out a lot of info. I was really surprised at how very basic it was.
March 23, 2010 at 1:08 am #690904
GenHillOneParticipantI can see the argument for not making it too lengthy in order to get more returns (though isn’t there a threat of penalty if you don’t send it it?), but I guess I figured that if it was going to help our area get services, they’d ask for more information.
March 23, 2010 at 1:19 am #690905
metrognomeParticipantfirst, the census is required by the constitution:
“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 10 years, in such manner as they shall by Law direct.”
— Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States
Second, as I recall, there used to be a short form and a long form but I could find no discussion of this on the 2010 Census website:
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/index.php
Third, some people actually believe that the Obama administration will use census info to decide who will be sent to the secret concentration camps being built at abandoned military bases with money hidden in the bailout bill. You think they would have been smart enough to require people to fill it out on-line so that bots could infect computers and allow the government to monitor all activity using the webcams on personal computers. I am kidding about the second sentence; I wish I was kidding about the first sentence…
March 23, 2010 at 1:22 am #690906
DOCMemberHey, I’m just glad that people are actually completing the cencus and sending it in! That helps out the community greatly and for every person that mails it, it saves something like $90. On a high note, the census no longer contains the question, “How many slaves do you own?”.
March 23, 2010 at 1:41 am #690907
dawsonctParticipantThat, despite the Holy Bible of Gods Own Word SAYS I can own slaves, as long as they are from a different nation.
—
Gotta go. My kids are misbehaving and I have to stone them to death.
March 23, 2010 at 1:50 am #690908
GenHillOneParticipantMaybe they should have included instructions for tinfoil hats.
March 23, 2010 at 2:13 am #690909
dawsonctParticipantI would think you would need to print the instructions for THAT on the outside of the envelope; those type wouldn’t open an envelope from the “government” you know, no telling WHAT would be inside! They have thought-control drugs, you know!! DON’T EVEN TOUCH THAT THING!!! AACHH!
March 23, 2010 at 2:20 am #690910
metrognomeParticipantAbout 25 years ago, I bought a house in what is now Shoreline in an area developed as a ‘property association’ by Bill and Bertha Boeing in the 30’s (it’s in the triangular area south of 155th and west of Aurora and the Interurban Rail right of way that is now a running trail.) The association still exists (as far as I know) primarily to maintain the 2 private parks.
Anyway, when we closed on the house, we had to sign association covenants that restricted the number of non-white persons (i.e. servants) allowed in each home and the hours they could be there (had to leave by sunset, as I recall.) When I objected, I was told that those sections were contravened by state law and could not be enforced and it would be too much trouble for the assn to change them. As it is impossible to find a wheelchair-accessible single family home, we decided to go ahead. I still have those covenants somewhere …
March 23, 2010 at 3:09 am #690911
voodooMemberI agree that it was a little anticlimactic. What I found most amusing is that they mailed me a letter telling me to expect a form in the mail a week later.
March 23, 2010 at 3:16 am #690912
GenHillOneParticipantha! metrognome, in the 70s I lived at the “head” of the Interurban Trail. But when I walked the mile to my school bus stop (barefoot and in the snow), it didn’t have a cool name. I was just walking under a bunch of power lines – maybe that’s when the tinfoil hats should have come into play.
March 23, 2010 at 3:29 am #690913
dawsonctParticipantYour U.S. Secretary of Commerce, some guy named Gary, Larry, Jerry Lock/Loch/Locke, said that for a relatively small expenditure (the price of a stamp. Put it on a post card next time), the reminder increased the rate of return by 6-12%, which saves $85 million for every 1% increase in mail-in responses.
The other night in TDS he explained it all in his usual clear, monotonal, almost utterly humorless fashion we all know and recognize:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-18-2010/gary-locke-pt–2
March 23, 2010 at 4:36 am #690914
DOCMemberWOOOO for The Daily Show!
March 24, 2010 at 2:28 am #690915
metrognomeParticipantokay, y’all need to work on your conspiracy theories. First, aluminum foil is SOOOOO 50’s. Second, the evil Obama census plan was outed on the Colbert Report: DON’T LICK THE ENVELOPE!!!!!
OMG — it’s toooo late — I should have noticed the Kool Aid flavor (actually, it was Funny Face Choo Choo Cherry flavor) — I am falling down the rabbit hole — is that Johnny Depp???
March 24, 2010 at 2:37 am #690916
odrokuParticipantHere’s what I can’t figure out:
I read the census form and realize the questions are asking about who lives in the house on a certain date in the future. Hence, I put it away thinking I should technically wait until that date arrives before I actually complete it, banish the thought anything should happen that would change those numbers.
Today I get a little reminder postcard giving me the ‘it’s the law’ business.
Kinda irks me a bit. Did not one person of influence in the Census Bureau read the information they send out and think, “Well, if we’re asking people to answer questions about April 1, maybe we should wait until at least April 2 to start pestering people for their answers.”
March 24, 2010 at 2:43 pm #690917
dhgParticipantodroku: Just use the time machine app on your iphone. Problem solved.
March 24, 2010 at 5:08 pm #690918
miwsParticipantThe only thing that threw me off a bit, was where in the instructions and/or on the TV ads, they said it would take ten minutes to complete.
I filled out the first page, and guess I wasn’t really paying attention to how many pages were actually there. Turn the page, and then realizing there were several pages, thought “Ten minutes? Yeah right!” until I realized those pages were for each additional (if any) persons in the household.
Mike
March 24, 2010 at 5:21 pm #690919
datamuseParticipantmetrognome, if licking an envelope gets me Johnny Depp, I’ll lick as many envelopes as it takes.
March 24, 2010 at 6:49 pm #690920
JoBParticipantMarch 26, 2010 at 9:08 am #690921
HMC RichParticipantI must admit, this was pretty boring. When tracing my ancestors, the older census records had more information.
My British wife said the UK census was so much more detailed. They would ask questions like, how many windows are in the household.
Guess I have ten more years to fill out another. I hope I am around.
March 26, 2010 at 4:32 pm #690922
JoBParticipantHMCRich..
they used to ask at least some of us more interesting questions not so many years back..
March 27, 2010 at 12:15 am #690923
odrokuParticipantdhg: I opted instead to use the Hot Tub Time Machine. Worked like a charm!
March 27, 2010 at 7:31 pm #690924
JimmyGMemberWe get the personal census worker visit to our front door every 10 years as we don’t have US mail delivery to our house.
Seems a waste that Uncle Sam hasn’t been able to figure that out after all this time.
March 27, 2010 at 8:32 pm #690925
SmittyParticipantIsn’t the purpose of the census to get a head count? It should take about 10 seconds.
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