Posted on 07/30/2005 2:00:35 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Article. I. Section. 2. Clause 3:
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.
On the envelope:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
Jeffersonville, IN 47132-0001
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
Penalty for Private Use $300
ACS-46(2003) (1-2004)
The American Community Survey
Form Enclosed
YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW
Dear Resident:
I recently sent a letter to your household about the American Community Survey. Enclosed is a questionnaire and mail it back as soon as possible in the postage-paid envelope.
This survey collects critical up-to-date information used to meet the needs of communities across the United States. For example, the results from this survey are used to decide where new schools, hospitals and fire stations are needed. This information also helps communities plan for the kinds of emergency situations that might affect you and your neighbors, such as floods and other natural disasters.
The U.S. Census Bureau chose your address, not you personally, as part of a randomly selected sample. You are required by U.S. law to respond to this survey. The Census Bureau is required by U.S. law to keep your answers confidential. The enclosed brochure answers frequently asked questions about the survey.
If you need help filling out the questionnaire, please use the enclosed guide or call our toll-free number (1-800-354-7271).
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Charles Louis Kincannon
Director, U.S. Census Bureau
Enclosures.
Frequently asked questions:
What is the American Community Survey?
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census. During Census 2000, the population of the United States was counted, and additional information was collected to describe the characteristics of the Nation’s population and housing.
The next census in 2010 will count the population, while the American Community Survey collects the information about population and housing characteristics throughout the decade. Based on the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau can provide data about our rapidly changing country more often than every 10 years.
Why don’t you use the information I provided on my Census 2000 questionnaire?
We need your response even if you completed a Census 2000 questionnaire, because the characteristics of your household may have changed since Census 2000. As we move further away from 2000, information provided in Census 2000 becomes outdated.
How do I benefit by answering the American Community Survey?
The American Community Survey provides up-to-date information for the Nation, states, cities, counties, metropolitan areas, and communities. By responding to the American community Survey questionnaire, you are helping your community to establish goals, identify problems and solutions, and measure the performance of programs.
Communities need data about the well-being of children, families, and the elderly to provide services to them. The data also are used to decide where to locate new highways, schools, hospitals, and community centers; to show a large corporation that a town has the workforce the company needs, and in many other ways.
Do I have to answer the questions on the American Community Survey?
Yes, your response to this survey is required by law (Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193). Title 13, as changed by Title 18, imposes a penalty for not responding. The survey is approved by the Office of Management and Budget. We estimate this survey will take about 38 minutes to complete.
How will the Census Bureau use the information that I provide?
The Census Bureau can us the information you provide to statistical purposes only and cannot publish or release information that would identify you and your household. Your information will be used in combination with information from other households to produce data for your community. Similar data will be produced for communities across the United States.
We may combine your answers with information that you gave to other agencies to enhance the statistical uses of these data. This information will be given the same protections as your survey information. Based on the information that you provide, you may be asked to participate in other Census Bureau surveys that are voluntary.
Will the Census Bureau keep my information confidential?
Yes. All of the information the Census Bureau collects from this survey about you and your household is confidential by law (Tot;e 13, United States Code, Section 9). By law, every Census Bureau employee-including the Director as well as every field representative-has taken an oath and is subject to a jail term, a fine, or both if he or she discloses ANY information that could identify you or your household.
Where can I find more information about the American Community Survey or get assistance?
You may visit our Web site www.census.gov/acs/www, or call 1-800-354-7271 if you need assistance or more information.
This is a 12 page booklet describing how to fill out the form. It is similar to a tax preparation booklet.
Of course one could always just indicate one's status as "undocumented worker". Apparently there's no Federal mechanism for doing anything about that (only for compelling me to fill out their stupid form).
The ACLU is too busy defending the "civil liberties" of those who are suing for the new schools, fire depot and hospitals for which the survey is supposed to determine the need. To represent you would be a conflict of interest.
Totally legal. We do it all the time. In fact, it says you may right on the tag.
Throw it it in the trash. I got the short form in 2000 and considered some of the questions on it too noay so I threw it away. A couple of months later a census taker came by and I told him, "There are 5 people living here. Go get the sherriff if you want more than that and I will tell him that all the other information is none of the government's business, too."
He went away and didn't come back.
I think the Feds bought it from the Russians.
Sue the post office.
Like I said earlier, it took the dems 50+ years to get us to this point. One of the most brilliant things our founders did was make it really hard to change things. (Although the court system has found a way around that, but that is changing too). Nevertheless, if we keep on our current course and fight it, inch by inch, we can push back the decades of abuse. It's going to take time. We, political junkies, want it yesterday, and get frustrated easily, but we have the media, the sheeple, the lifelong hacks in washington, etc. to deal with. Slowly, state by state, more and more are seeing what's been happening and are joining in on it. I'm guessing it's probably going to take longer to get it back than it did to create this mess. We can not give up, I still believe in our constitution.
LOL I love it!
For example, Prudhoe sits on state land. It's still gov't, but at least the state could pull some revenue from it, 50%. ANWR sits on Fed land and the state can pull 10% of the tax revenue, so the state doesn't see getting much from that deal. Aside from that Alaska hasn't been active, one might say, about getting the land that lies within its borders, and that has to do with the deal that gave statehood to Alaska in the first place.
The situation of Alaska, once that was seen, dimly at first, caused interest in other acquisitions of FedGov from the Louisiana Purchase on, and how some of it passed into private ownership, etc. And the interest in outer space land came from a mining feasibility study 1/4 century ago before it became obvious that private ownership [lack of] was a stopper to any space mining plans.
To a point. That point is where more than one state differs and the FedGov feels they ought to step in. Unfortunately, most issues these days involve more than one state.
Thanks, so the feds owned most of Alaska at the time it became a state. Is there something in the works at the state level to gain it back, or is this just talking as you eluded to? Or maybe a better question is, are people talking about it more so now than before?
Until there is privitized space exploration, we are at the whims of the government. I always think of Hans Solo.
I figured we were "randomly" selected because I didn't bow to the original census-taker. I told him politely how many people lived in the house and politely left it at that. He then proceeded to take an inordinate amount of time parked in our driveway, filling out the rest of the form for us, or doing some other paperwork to make it look like our behavior was being documented. What a sleeze. He obviously wanted to flaunt his disregard for private property as well, since he could have done his business parked on the street. I wondered what training these guys received.
Anyway, back to the survey. Within a couple of weeks I was receiving messages on the answering machine by some census "official", insisting that we needed to return her calls. I've never had any need to screen calls via an answering machine first, so on a couple of occasions the woman got through to me.
I responded to her in the same polite manner as I do telemarketers, saying, "We do not do telemarking, polls, marketing research, surveys, etc., so please put us on your do not call list". As she kept rambling, I hung up.
This happened a couple more times, and she left messages a couple more times, and I had finally had it with this harrasser. That's exactly what she was.
I finally remained on the line and told her that she had no business harrassing us, and that we had requested to be put on a do not call list (knowing full well that the government hypocrits exempt themselves from its own laws). Oh, but she was from the government, so that wasn't applicable. And so I further explained, that if a telemarketer for a private company had been doing what she was doing, I would have legal recourse.
Her demeanor turned from one of attempting to "positively" encourage compliance, to threats of "required by law" or else "the fine" for not submitting to her demands. I then asked her what was the fine... or rather, the fee required for me to be left alone. LOL, the stuttering and fumbling on the other end of the line was priceless.
She couldn't tell me what the fine was. I asked incredulously, "You have been working there for 20 years (this was part of her sales pitch to appear trustworthy), and you can't tell me what the fine is?" I had a few choice opinions of her that I then shared. Needless to say, the conversation ended shortly thereafter, and I never heard from her again.
The arrogance of these career government despots is unreal.
"REQUIRED BY LAW"... just a manipulation tactic foisted upon the law-abiding, to force unquestioning compliance.
The constitution was designed that way. States rights. The founders thought of states as mini countries, within a federal security. Many are used to a fed ruling, but that is exactly opposite of what the intent of the constitution is. There are many examples of issues where states differ. It shouldn't be many states want it, so let's make a fed issue of it. If all states wanted abortion, then so be it, it's not a fed issue. If all states want gay marriages, than, so be it. It's not a fed issue. If you don't like rulings in one state, your option is to move to a different state more suitable to your liking. That's the way it should be.
Just send the form in with the questions unanswered, by sending in the form you are replying.
Good for you. Until they bring me a copy of the constitutional amendment requiring us to disclose our yearly gas bills, or second mortgages, etc., they'll only get a head count from me.
I received the same thing. Put my name on it and wrote "5th Amendment" in anything I considered too personal or none of their business. Haven't heard a word from them since.
Here's a question: Alaska has a lot of other resources besides oil and natural gas. Why is development of these other resources restricted? Development of Alaska became frozen almost instantly a century ago when the Copper River coal fields were discovered, the first Alaska development freeze. Why is that?
Space resource development is also frozen. Why?
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