[Bumped to top. -ed.]
In preface, I think I’ve officially become a cranky old man… I don’t have any problem with the short form Census that was sent out earlier in the year. It is a Constitutionally mandated function of the government, and an accurate count of the population is necessary for a number of things. But all they really need to know is how many people live at the address. Which is, with slightly more detail, all the short form really asks, and I’m cool with that and it’s not particularly invasive.
But I have to say, I have to agree with the staunchest of bat s*#$ crazy libertarian conservatives when it comes to the “American Community Survey.” (The census provides a nice pdf of this thing here.) Honestly, why does the government need or want to know how much I would be willing to sell my home for and what my utility bills are? Are they in the market for a condo in Arlington? If so, I should clearly write down an asking price, not what I’d sell for. I mean, some of the questions I get what they are after, but that doesn’t make them less obscenely personal, things like “Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?” or “Has this person given birth to any child in the last 12 months?” Which apparently they need to ask because they can’t do math. Or, what are the real-estate taxes for the property and what’s your mortgage. I suppose looking things up in public records is too much of a hassle.
Seriously, this supplemental thing has me rather annoyed and is making me cranky… Time to look up the phone numbers for my members of congress.
[Original timestamp 7/6/10, 12:11 PM. -ed.]
Are they in the market for a condo in Arlington?
This made me laugh out loud.
“…I’ve officially become a cranky old man…”
Welcome, dcl! :} Your New Member package is in the mail, with your Free Gifts & annual Dues assessment. ;> Watch for info on our Annual Convention, at which we collectively Gripe & Groan about Everything. 🙂
I agree with you about the Community Survey btw. Screw That. Gummint mind yer own dam’ Bidness.
Pingback: Tweets that mention A short rant on the Census ACS form -- Topsy.com
If you don’t like the questions, don’t answer them, its really that simple. They are trying to gather as much data as possible in order to make various cross demographic analysis more valuable. Nothing nefarious at work here, especially if, as you point out, much of it is publicly available anyway. This just makes it easier for them to gather, since i’m guessing that most of these systems aren’t cross-linked in the first place, and data mining them is probably not a priority for the government. If they get the data great, if not, no big deal.
Actually, David, it’s not. Under US law I can be fined for not filling this out completely. (Though as far as I can tell the U.S. Census Bureau has not successfully fined someone since 1978). But that’s only the half of it I will be harassed by the government for several months if I try and ignore the form or not fill it out completely. This is not the standard census form. This is the, it turns out, monthly survey that they send out, every month of every year to a small percentage of the population that asks deeply personal questions, and that they do their best to brow beat people into believing it is not optional and that they must fill all of it out.
A lot of the census stuff provides research data that would otherwise be unavailable. Social scientists and economists can answer some pretty neat research questions using that data. For example, I saw a paper which showed that expectations of stock market returns were based on histories of the individuals (IE, people who grew up in the Great Depression think stocks have low returns, those who grew up in the 1990’s think stocks have great returns).
So it may be inconvenient for you, dcl. But you are helping to produce many nerdgasms among poor geeky grad students locked in closets and chained to computers. These people have no chance at getting girlfriends or avoiding social mockery. Your data, dcl, is their only pleasure in life.
Do your part, dcl. Do it for the nerds 🙂
I’ll probably respond to some of it, though from what I’ve read this only encourages them to hound you more to get the rest, but this thing really does make me cranky and asks questions that just seem way too personal. And the thing is I like the normal census, I really do. I was all excited to get the real census and it felt good to send it back and do my part and what not. But this thing, grr, I do not like…
Casey: LOL!! :}
“…from what I’ve read this only encourages them to hound you more to get the rest…”
Bumpersticker seen longlong ago: “Don’t Vote. It only encourages them.” ;>
Where under the law does it say they can fine you for not completeing the non-census part of the form? I’d be very curious to see that.
This is not the census form, the entire thing is the non census part of the form. But under Title 13 of the US code section 141 and 193 they are allowed to ask this stuff, and the fines are authorized under section 221 of the same.
Interesting, I stand corrected, you’re rant has some merit, although I still think you are making a mountain out of an ant hill 🙂
Some of the questions I’d agree with you. And some of the questions make logical sense in terms of the information they are trying to get at. But on the micro level they are asking a lot of questions that nobody should have to answer under penalty of law. Which is the part that is annoying.
I recognize that at least a portion of what they are asking is public record, or is information that private enterprise has and sells at will. And also that, in theory, this is information that is not attached directly to me, or those living with me’s personal identity. So in that sense yes, this is making an mountain from a mole hill.
But again, at the micro level, it does not, in any way, make it more pleasant or less of an invasion to be asked these questions. Which is why this is the first time I actually understand why people get pissed off about the Census.
I support their Constitutionally mandated duty, and I’m even okay with the extra short form questions. Some of them are a little annoying, but overall, it’s really no big deal.
Also, I’d honestly feel better about this survey if it were conducted online, with good encryption and assuming that the code for it was properly written (But I’m probably in a minority there, and I would have a lot of questions about how the system was set up). But sending this through the mail makes me uncomfortable, and a phone interview more so, and the idea of someone coming to my door to talk about this even more so. I know the person processing the form or interviewing me doesn’t care about any of it but the whole thing makes me very uneasy.
Seriously, download the PDF of this survey, read through it, and think about how comfortable you and the people living at your address would be answering all of the questions. Even the ones that have a totally legit use, like how I get to work and when I leave, well I don’t really feel 100 percent comfortable sending that information through the mail, or telling some guy that just showed up at my door.
It is all just very unpleasant.
And trust me, if I thought I could toss this thing in the trash and not get hounded by the government I would.
dcl – it’s *almost* time to pitch one part of ‘The Government’ against another …
Send it back with the parts that are Patient Information redacted (or not filled in) until ‘they’ can send you a suitable certification that the confidentiality of the Patient Information as required by HIPAA is being properly handled – and US Snail shouldn’t be able to qualify …
FWIW – I am less concerned by the specific information as I am by the amount of time filling it out will take, given that I currently have 5 adults living in my household …
Fair enough. This whole thing just makes me cranky. I think part of that is the strong arm tactics and the lack of any way to opt out of this. At least I can hang up gallop…
“…although I still think you are making a mountain out of an ant hill :)”
David K, for My part I’d say he’s launching a Nuclear weapon to wallop a Mole hill. / ~ Sincerely, John Boehner
“…given that I currently have 5 adults living in my household …”
Alasdair, that sounds like Voter Fraud to me. Whaddaya, some kinda ACORN nut? ;>
“This whole thing just makes me cranky.” dcl, that’s exactly why we Welcomed you to the Club. (See, #2 above. 🙂 “At least I can hang up gallop…” Yeah. / And then you can Mount up and Gallup toward the sound of the Guns. [Apologies to Lt. Col. Patrick J. “Peasants with Pitchforks” Buchanan. ;]
Venerable Loy – nahhh – a much more mundane explanation … self, spouse, youngest daughter about to head off to college, and 2 daughters (members of the boomerang generation) …