Are you taking the 5th ammendment on your Census..?

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by Anti-Evil

 

Wait a minute....

You're doing comedian Ron White's stand-up routine!

Hijacking your own thread, now?

Tsk.

You beat me to it...by just a few seconds! And I don't think the cops need a database to identify "tater salad" as Mr. White's nickname...at least not in the south.

There are a few forms going around. Only one is the census form. It is only one side of a page.

You are required by law to do the one page.

Any packet/community survey thing is totally optional. You are not bound by law to answer these questions. If it says that you do (as per your state or local municipality rules), you may put N/A as answers.

The fifth amendment does not apply when dealing with the US Census. First, the census is written into the Constitution. If you are a fan of the constitution, you must answer. Second, the fifth amendment applies only in legal cases against self-incrimination. This does not apply in this situation.

So, in short. The actual form is required. The one with tons of questions is not.

Originally posted by Iago18

So, in short. The actual form is required. The one with tons of questions is not.

Actually:

Do I have to respond to the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey?

Yes.

The American Community Survey, which replaced the decennial census long form, has different questions and purposes than the 2010 Census population headcount. Your participation in both is vital and required by law. Data about how our communities are changing are crucial to many planning decisions that affect you—such as neighborhood improvements, emergency preparedness, transportation, senior services and much more. www.census.gov...

It seems that both are regarded the same under federal law.

Imho filling out the 10 question census form should be enough to satisfy one's constitutional duty. I find rather heavy handed to have the same penalty for the ACS which should be optional.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a 21-page questionnaire generated by the US Department of Commerce under the auspices of the US Census Bureau. Funded by tax dollars, the lengthy questionnaire is mailed to 2% of the US population annually. The ACS has been criticized by many recipients due to its highly invasive questions, mandatory language regarding compliance threatening steep fines, and the dogged follow-up tactics often used by Census Bureau representatives to obtain completed forms. www.wisegeek.com...

However:

In the end, however, the Census Bureau has no authority to enforce the laws that require the ACS be answered. The Census Bureau can press formal charges for non-compliance, but this is somewhat impractical given the number of ACS forms that are not returned, or returned incomplete. A lawsuit would likely draw media attention and a public outcry that would very probably bring an end to the ACS, or end mandatory compliance. As of early 2007, no legal action has been taken against anyone for refusing to answer the ACS.

(same source)


[edit on 12 Apr 2010 by schrodingers dog]

Originally posted by Aggie Man

Originally posted by Anamnesis
have you seen this?

spokeo

LOL @ that website. Aside from my name and address (which anyone can get from the phone book) they did not have one single piece of accurate information on me. I suppose I must be good at keeping my info. private.

Did you purchase the service? I'm sure there's plenty of personal info about you there but you'll have to pay to find out.

LOL @ yourself....

Originally posted by Anamnesis

Originally posted by Aggie Man

Originally posted by Anamnesis
have you seen this?

spokeo

LOL @ that website. Aside from my name and address (which anyone can get from the phone book) they did not have one single piece of accurate information on me. I suppose I must be good at keeping my info. private.

Did you purchase the service? I'm sure there's plenty of personal info about you there but you'll have to pay to find out.

LOL @ yourself....

Dang!!! Don't take it personally....unless you own that site. The "free" info. they provided was entirely inaccurate. I'll pass on the for $ content...

Occasionally needing to reference various statistics, I don't mind contributing in order to keep them accurate, as they are needed for a myriad of different purposes.

Mine was brief, and didn't ask any personal questions. It was essentially just a head-count. I completed it quickly, sent it back, and wasn't bothered in the least, as I understand the purpose it serves, both currently, and for future generations.

Edit to add: The toilet question only serves to gain information about how we are living. For example, when studying poverty, it can be refined to simple things such as:

For every person living in the household, there should be one chair, plus one extra chair.

If there are six people living in a household with only one toilet, this also addresses substandard living arrangements.

So, there is a reason for the seemingly asinine questions.



[edit on 4/13/2010 by ladyinwaiting]

Originally posted by Aggie Man

Originally posted by Anamnesis

Originally posted by Aggie Man

Originally posted by Anamnesis
have you seen this?

spokeo

LOL @ that website. Aside from my name and address (which anyone can get from the phone book) they did not have one single piece of accurate information on me. I suppose I must be good at keeping my info. private.

Did you purchase the service? I'm sure there's plenty of personal info about you there but you'll have to pay to find out.

LOL @ yourself....

Dang!!! Don't take it personally....unless you own that site. The "free" info. they provided was entirely inaccurate. I'll pass on the for $ content...

hehe... Not taking it personally but I think you've missed my point.... that anyone can find out practically anything about anybody if they know where to look and are willing to pay.

The 2nd point being that the Census is fairly innocuous and your privacy isn't being violated.

3rd point is that, unless you're being accused of a crime then the 5th amendment doesn't factor in here.....

Yea, I met Ron at Dallas FortWorth International, waiting for a plane - he was hammered...

this thread should have died already.
lots of questions but no answers. they really dont want to talk about
what this information is being used for...? 3 calls and no answers.
Questions without reason - gets the 5th for me...


[edit on 13-4-2010 by Anti-Evil]

Originally posted by weedwhacker
Can someone explain, in clear, concise English, exactly WHAT is the beef with the Census?

A lot of this is derived from the growing sentiment of ever reaching tentacles of the Federal Government.

The use of manipulative and deceptive advertising that basically works to guilt people into providing needless information to the Federal Government.

The wanting to move the Census under the wing of the White House, rather than the traditional Commerce Department.

Some see the move as highly political and the data can be used to favor the party in control, rather than count the enumerated peoples of the United States of America.

The census and the act of counting the people living in the land is a Congressional mandate, not the Peoples'. Only by current Federal Law, does it have implications of motivating people to answer the census.

reply to post by Anti-Evil


You've been given the answer, you simply choose not to accept it, because it's not the answer you want to hear.

Question: When we know the population of our country, how do you think, we are able to gain that figure?

If someone asks: Which city in the U.S. has the largest population? The answer will be "According to the latest census......".

How many cities in the U.S. have over a million in population?

When we say: There are x number of people who are living in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 50, how do we gain those figures?

When we gain statistics such as "the average American household is composed of 3.5 people, how do we get that information?

It's also tied in with monies cities are eligible to receive from the Federal government, for projects needed associated with population census, and city needs.

Let me ask you this. What do you think it's for? What do you honestly believe the government is using this information for? I promise I won't be rude, I'm just seriously interested in knowing what you believe the information is used for.







[edit on 4/13/2010 by ladyinwaiting]

reply to post by Anti-Evil


Hmmmm. I didn't have any question like that on mine. That's a little bit of a ridiculous one IMO.Mine asked how far to work 0 miles unemployed, hey maybe now they'll have an Accurate number of the unemployed. LOL. Then they'll see our dire straits.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
Can someone explain, in clear, concise English, exactly WHAT is the beef with the Census?

It is done every ten years, and suddenly THIS, because of the viral nature of the Internet, and the incredible changes that have occured since year 2000 in the Web, and the way people use it, suddenly now, after all the previous Census(es)? (Censi?) people are having heartburn???

I really am surprised at how easily manipulated folks can become, over such a simple and benign event.

Should also point out something that most people nowadays seem to have forgotten, so soon....

YouTube! Anyone care to take a guess as to how long that video-sharing site has been around???

Well, it only BEGAN in 2005, folks! And, look at the point it has lowered everyone to...

I haven't read the rest of this thread yet, and I don't always agree with you, especially on 9/11 issues, but this my friend, is genius! This is what I have been saying since the census commercials started coming out.

Star for you!

By the way, I filled mine out and sent it back the same day I got it. I will be counted, simply because I am a citizen of this country and as such I want my tax dollars being used as best they can be. If the census helps, so be it. I am also a camper, I mean every weekend in the summer I am off to one state park or another......if the census helps the parks to get more money for improvements, I am ALL FOR IT!

I tossed out the census forms that came into my mail. Since I live in an apartment and rarely check the mail I had about 3 of the short ones. Threw em out and forgot about it. Is there any real penalty for not doing it? Even if there is, not like I will follow through with it anyways.