2010 Census

I want to take a moment to address the 2010 Census, which has become an issue of some controversy in some groups.

Every ten years the government is required to conduct a census to determine how many people live in which states, and thus how many representatives each state has in the House. Exactly how this is done changes somewhat from decade to decade. In 2000, every household received a ten-question form. Every sixth household randomly received a longer survey including a number of other questions. Similar strategies have been used since at least 1960.

Starting in 2010, the census will be conducted differently. Everyone will still receive a ten-question form, which will be nearly identical to the 2000 form. However, there will no longer be a long form. Instead, the new American Community Survey, or ACS, will be sent to approximately 1/30 of the households in the country, every year. This survey is almost identical to the 2000 census long form. I may conceivably have missed some, but by my count the new questions are:

• IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, did anyone in this household receive Food Stamps or a Food Stamp benefit card?
• Please print below the specific major(s) of any BACHELOR’S DEGREES this person has received.
• Is this person CURRENTLY covered by any of the following types of health insurance or health coverage plans?
• Does this person have a VA service-connected disability rating? What is this person’s service-connected disability rating?
• In the PAST 12 MONTHS did this person get married? Divorced? Widowed?
• How many times has this person been married? In what year did this person last get married?
• Has this person given birth to any children in the past 12 months?

Now, let me address the specific criticisms I've heard of this new approach.

1. It's too intrusive. Most of these new questions are a matter of government record, and none are particularly more intrusive than previous censuses. Whether the long form has always been too intrusive is a question for legitimate debate. But this is nothing new for 2010.
2. The American Community Survey is part of some vague but malicious plot by the Obama administration. The US Census Bureau has been planning this change since 1995, so anyone you hear blaming this particularly on the Obama administration is, quite simply, lying in order to make you afraid.
3. The constitution only requires that you fill out the number of people in your household. Anyone telling you this is is just plain wrong. No census in the history of this country has ever only asked that! You can be fined for filling out false information, and failing to do so can reduce your state's representation in Congress. So fill out your census form!

Now, this new ACS form is different. It's not a census, so the government's authority to enforce your response is dubious. The law does say you can be fined for not filling out the ACS accurately and completely, but this law may not be constitutional. Since nobody has been fined as yet, there's been no opportunity to test it in court.

I intend to fill out the ACS should one come to my home. The question it asks address nothing I consider private, and the answers I give may provide our representatives with better information on which to base their decisions. If you instead choose to not respond, and choose instead to test the ACS in court, then I wish you well. Just be aware of exactly what it is you are fighting, and why.