The long arm of the long census form

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/4/9 | Debra J. Saunders

[Deo volente]

What is your race?
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Your personal ancestry or ethnic origin?
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

How many rooms are in your home?
Lots of rooms and hallways. Too many to count.

Is anyone at home deaf or hard of hearing?
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Does anyone at home “because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition” have “serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?”
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Trouble walking or climbing stairs?
Jack has no trouble getting around the hotel. Any more questions??

[TurtleUp]

"What is the penality for lying on a census form?" I'm wondering that myself. I could have some fun filling out the questionnaire.

I don't lie or even give answers that make it obvious that I am not cooperating. I just give answers that reflect a level of education and intelligence appropriate for a democrat, e.g., my race is "human", as is my ethnic origin. I only have one room (did I misread that? I was in the kitchen and thought they were asking how many kitchens I had) ...

[teenyelliott]

I got this stupid thing. It is sitting on my desk, while I decide exactly what to do with it.

HA! I just had a brilliant idea...I will fill it out using info about all of my pets!!! No college, can't go to the doctor by themselves....

[Domandred]

Guy in the cubicle next to me at work got one. He got randomly selected to be an early reporter or something like that.

I’ll see if I can scan it for all of us to look at it.

[GOYAKLA]

Can I invoke/evoke the Fifth Amendment?

[DarthDilbert]

I have yet to see the actual form, have any of you?

The PDF form is listed here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/SQuest/SQuest1.htm

[Emile]

In addition, earlier in Article I, Section 2, it is provided that “representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states...”. The census is tha mechanism by which this apportionment is achieved. All other purposes are outside the Constitution, and can legally be ignored, IMO.

[Emile]

LOL. I’d also answer some of the questions “Heeeeere’s Johnny!”

[ExTexasRedhead]

Getting information for the Zero DeathCare to determine how many they can deny care to and then take off the Social Security rolls.

Of course “NO” member of Congress will have the CrapCare intended for the peons.

[HamiltonJay]

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_cens.html

[556x45]

LOL, you beat me to the NASCAR answer! Sad isn’t it that more than one person thinks this way. LOL!!!

[Polarik]

By law, you are only required to report the number of people in your household.

If they ask this other bullcrap, tell them that asking me to answer more than the number of people in my household is a violation of my Constitutional rights. And then tell them to get off your property.

[teenyelliott]

I have it sitting right here. How much is my mortgage payment, how many acres do I have, how much would I sell my property for, when was it built, how many cars do I have, do I have a sink with a faucet (seriously, that is on there), how many times have I been married, how much do I make and from what sources, do I have trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions...unbelievable.

[Professional Engineer]

Oh man, there’s no option to show burning tree huggers as a heat source for the home.

[Polarik]

It’s a $500 fine, but nobody has ever been charged for not answering a Census taker.

The controlling law for the U.S. Census is Title 13 of the U.S. Code.

[teenyelliott]

and yet here they are killing trees asking me again.

Not only that, but wasting tax money doing so. I first got a letter telling me they were going to send the thing, then I got their obnoxious book, then got another letter telling me that they had sent it, and I better hurry up and answer.

[bamahead]

Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
(View past Libertarian pings here)

[MissouriConservative]

I love this paragraph from the link.

“The Census Bureau stresses the importance of responding to Census 2000 in the following statement:

“Participating in the census is in the individuals’ own self interest. People who answer the census help their communities obtain federal and state funding and valuable information for planning schools, hospitals, roads, and more. For example, census information helps decision makers understand which neighborhoods need new schools and which ones need greater services for the elderly. But they will not be able to tell what your neighborhood needs if you do not fill out your census form.””

None of that is Constitutional.

[razorboy]

I got that too. Like two days before the census and one day after. Which convinced me the horror stories on the web of the multiple times a day harassment were probably true, so I filled the dumb thing out.

[teenyelliott]

I find it offensive, all the questions they ask. How many times have I been married, do I have trouble remembering things?????

Slow boiling of the frog, mah brutha. I don't like it, but okay...well, this pisses me off, but I'll do it...next thing you know, our country is gone.