American Community Survey...persistant little buggers....

so i know there are a few threads on this but they are sorta old so here is my story...

Once upon a time with the American Community Survey....

so we are clear, this is not about the u.s.census..i filled that out and sent it in like a good person. this is the 28 page, 72 question American Family Survey....(24 housing, 48 personal)..you know, the one that asks the questions like..( for those that didnt get it) some select questions........

Housing
2)about when was your building first built?
7) how many separate rooms are in this house, apt or mobile home?
10) ...do you or any member of this household have access to the internet? and how?
14) last month, what was the cost for electricity? and sewr? and oil?
19) ...about how much do you think this house and lot, apt would sell for if it were for sale?
22) what is the mortgage payment?
23) do you have a second mortgage?

Background
14) do you speak a language other than english at home?
16) are you covered under any of the following healthcare? -lists 7 with a spot for 'other'
18) because of a physical, mental or emotional condition, does you have serious difficulty concentrating, remebering or makeing decisions? ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
32) how many people, including you, usually rode to work in a vehicle last week?
33) what time do you usually leave for work?
34) how long does it take you to get home from work?
47) ask how much you made..
also asks about schooling, any degrees and you need to answer this for everybody that lives at the residence....

so how does this info help make up any legislative boundries or add/subtact from congress/house of reps?

now the good stuff...my, my, my are they persistant..started with 1 or 2 calls a day, then a few phone calls every other dayish for a couple days, then back to 1 or 2 calls... gotten about 4 letters stating the reasons- data gathering to help the community and the ominious 'your response is required by law'...then starts the personal vists..i live in a apt complex with a secured entry with a non-working entry system..gotto know me personaly to get ahold of me to let you in...i think we are at vist number 5 or 6 now, they even got into the building once and left a note and card on the door..(note and card always left in entry way)..always very polite and with the 'by law you must call me' and a new one..'by law i am required to return untill i contact you'..persistant little bugger....funny part is that im moving in 60 days..so the info is sorta non-valid....

thought i would put this out there for those who may be dealing with this intrusion of my privacy..legal threats to manipulate me into giving out some rather personel info for a 'data gathering' scheme to be used by the govt and more than llikely put in a format to be sold to insurance companies ect....... back in the day there was something called a "york directory' which listed all this info that the survey asks for...we used it the insurance investagation field.....so dont give me that song and dance about not selling the info

a couple of links

www.petitiononline.com...

www.opposingviews.com...

I have never heard of this type of survey. What part of the country are you in?
I did find this on the US Census website
askacs.census.gov...

The ACS is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 141 and 193, and response is required by law. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amend Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000.

reply to post by borracho


a little background

en.wikipedia.org...

In 1995, the Bureau began the process of changing the means of obtaining the demographic, housing, social, and economic information from the census long form to the ACS. Testing began in 1996, and the ACS program began producing test data in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The survey was fully implemented in 2005. The following year, the Census Bureau released estimates for all areas with populations of 65,000 or more using the data collected from January to December 2005. In 2010, The ACS produced its first set of estimates for areas of all population sizes, using information collected from January 2005 through December 2009.

they say your info is confidential..well your identifing info is 'confidential' but the info you give is sold out to busnises, insurance companies ect...

The Chamber of Commerce, for example, strongly advocates funding them, since its members rely so much on the information they provide on basic things such as household spending, per capita income, and population estimates. The ACS is of particular value to them, says Martin Regalia, Commerce’s chief economist. “It is especially important to some of our bigger members for trying to understand geographic distinctions and other granularity in the economy.”

www.businessweek.com...

so in other words..big business/corporations need this info in order to get more of your money...i wonder how business survived before the ACS? there must have been no sucsessfull businesses around back then, right??

but with all the legal threats..i havent heard of anyone being fined...does that mean everybody has complied??
looking up the difference between a 'law' and a 'code'.....

In practice, there is little difference between these sources of law. All of them can be binding and enforceable. However, there's also a hierarchy of the sources of law, which can change exactly how enforceable each one is. For example, the United States Code cannot overturn anything in the United States Constitution, and Agency Rules and Regulations cannot change anything in the United States Code. Finally, judicial precedent only seeks to clarify the impact and meaning of the Constitution, Code, and Regulations, and cannot change the Code itself unless it violates the Constitution, or the Regulations unless they violate the Code.

wiki.answers.com...

so a code cant go against the constitution or other laws...which the fine in Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and Section 221, and Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559- which amend Title 13 could possibly be unconstitutional...but since these are 'codes' and not true 'laws' made by the legislature may set up the grounds of a defense, hence you dont hear about people actually being fined........or at least they dont talk about being fined

litle rat bast@rds finaly talked to us...called froma different phone number ( after a personel visit)..roomie thought it was a friend...

roomie: im not gunna answer any questions
CB worker: ok, there are 7 questions to answer for a 'complete incomplete'
roomie: huh
the questions were..how many people live at residence, sex of the people, age, race,nationality, have you been in school in the past 4 months, what or any degrees do you hold...
roomie: ahh, i think thats more than 7 questions....
CB worker: ok, thank you for you time....

no fines, no legal actions taken for not answering...

everthing that i read was and has been vindicated...stay strong people

knowledge is power