Thread: The Ballooning Price of the Census

The Ballooning Price of the Census

[b]The 2010 Census will cost an estimated $14 billion—far more than any in U.S. history. “The cost nearly doubles every 10 years, and it’s just unsustainable,â€

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/census

Not sure what is all on the form to fill out, but what am I legally obligated to fill out as far as information?

According to the word, it is just a head count.

Originally Posted by partwerks

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/census

Not sure what is all on the form to fill out, but what am I legally obligated to fill out as far as information?

According to the word, it is just a head count.

If you refuse to give out the information or you deliberately give inaccurate information, you can be in legal trouble. According to United States Code, Title 13 (Census), Chapter 7 (Offenses and Penalties), SubChapter II, if you're over 18 and refuse to answer all or part of the Census, you can be fined up to $100. If you give false answers, you're subject to a fine of up to $500. If you offer suggestions or information with the "intent to cause inaccurate enumeration of population," you are subject to a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both. Here's the official verbiage:
221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

•(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.

•(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.

•(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
Sec. 222. Giving suggestions or information with intent to cause inaccurate enumeration of population

Whoever, either directly or indirectly, offers or renders to any officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof engaged in making an enumeration of population under subchapter II, IV, or V of chapter 5 of this title, any suggestion, advice, information or assistance of any kind, with the intent or purpose of causing an inaccurate enumeration of population to be made, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/question345.htm

[quote]GAO says the Census Bureau needs to re-examine its approach. “Does it make sense to go back to a household six times?â€

Why do they still send out forms for this? Why cant this be done electronically? What a waste of money. Give each household ten or twenty bucks to submit their entry online and be done with it. Lots of money saved, and a few bucks out there to circulate in the economy. Geez...forms are so "old school."

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/18 ... 5844.shtml

I'm not so sure it is constitutional to have to give out any other information, other than how many are currently living in the household.

http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/wwilli ... 2171.shtml

I thought it was a complete waste of money when we received a letter telling us to watch for the census letter. Of course the letter was in English and spanish.

Originally Posted by partwerks

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/18/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5095844.shtml

I'm not so sure it is constitutional to have to give out any other information, other than how many are currently living in the household.

http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/wwilli ... 2171.shtml

The constitution authorizes congress to make laws so it would seem that the laws they pass are constitutional, unless someone can prove to the supreme court that they aren't.

545 vs 300,000,000

> EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS
> SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT
> POLITICAL DEBACLE.
>
> Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.
>
> 545 PEOPLE
> By Charlie Reese
>
> Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then
> campaign against them.
>
> Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are
> against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
>
> Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and
> high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
>
> You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
>
> You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on
> appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
>
> You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
>
> You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
>
> You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
>
> One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme
> Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are
> directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic
> problems that plague this country.
>
> I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem
> was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its
> Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered,
> but private, central bank.
>
> I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason..
> They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a
> congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care
> if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has
> the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it
> is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
>
> Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what
> they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless
> of party.
> What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive
> amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker,
> who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. The
> president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to
> accept it.
>
> The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
> responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and
> approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House?
> Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow
> House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the
> president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
>
> It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace
> 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and
> irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not
> traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain
> truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it
> must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
>
> If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
>
> If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..
>
> If the Army &Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ
>
> If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan
> not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
>
> There are no insoluble government problems.
>
> Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire
> and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they
> can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from
> whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into
> the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the
> economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they
> take an oath to do.
>
> Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
>
> They, and they alone, have the power.
>
> They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are
> their bosses.
>
> Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
>
> We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
>
> Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
>
> What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to
> you.
>
>
> This might be funny if it weren't so darned true.
> Be sure to read all the way to the end:
>
> Tax his land,
> Tax his bed,
> Tax the table
> At which he's fed.
>
> Tax his tractor,
> Tax his mule,
> Teach him taxes
> Are the rule.
>
> Tax his work,
> Tax his pay,
> He works for peanuts
> Anyway!
> Tax his cow,
> Tax his goat,
> Tax his pants,
> Tax his coat.
> Tax his ties,
> Tax his shirt,
> Tax his work,
> Tax his dirt.
>
> Tax his tobacco,
> Tax his drink,
> Tax him if he
> Tries to think.
>
> Tax his cigars,
> Tax his beers,
> If he cries
> Tax his tears.
>
> Tax his car,
> Tax his gas,
> Find other ways
> To tax his ass.
>
> Tax all he has
> Then let him know
> That you won't be done
> Till he has no dough.
>
> When he screams and hollers;
> Then tax him some more,
> Tax him till
> He's good and sore.
> Then tax his coffin,
> Tax his grave,
> Tax the sod in
> Which he's laid.
>
> Put these words
> Upon his tomb,
> Taxes drove me
> to my doom...'
>
> When he's gone,
> Do not relax,
> Its time to apply
> The inheritance tax.
> Accounts Receivable Tax
> Building Permit Tax
> CDL license Tax
> Cigarette Tax
> Corporate Income Tax
> Dog License Tax
> Excise Taxes
> Federal Income Tax
> Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
> Fishing License Tax
> Food License Tax
> Fuel Permit Tax
> Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
> Gross Receipts Tax
> Hunting License Tax
> Inheritance Tax
> Inventory Tax
> IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
> Liquor Tax
> Luxury Taxes
> Marriage License Tax
> Medicare Tax
> Personal Property Tax
> Property Tax
> Real Estate Tax
> Service Charge T ax
> Social Security Tax
> Road Usage Tax
> Sales Tax
> Recreational Vehicle Tax
> School Tax
> State Income Tax
> State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
> Telephone Federal Excise Tax
> Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
> Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
> Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge=2 0Tax
> Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
> Telephone State and Local Tax
> Telephone Usage Charge Tax
> Utility Taxes
> Vehicle License Registration Tax
> Vehicle Sales Tax
> Watercraft Registration Tax
> Well Permit Tax
> Workers Compensation Tax
>
> STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years
> ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely
> no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed
> home to raise the kids.
> What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
> And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?
>
> I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get
> there!!!
> GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!
>

$100.00 is a NYC parking fine. What federal prosecutor is going to go after people who refuse to submit to the census for a $100.00 fine?

Besides the Feds are probably more worried about what might come flying through their office windows than some wise guy who refuses to cooperate with the census.