I just got a letter in the mail (one page) that tells me, in about one week, I will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail.
In the next paragraph it tells me how important the Census is.
Did it really require a letter to announce the pending arrival of a letter?
Someone's gotta keep the USPS in business...
Apparently there are about 399 million idiots living within our borders. The preemptive letter is necessary.
With todays technology why do we really need a census? Seriously! Build a database that merges drivers license info, banking info, real estate info, power company info, cell phone info, facebook info, tax return info as well as any other info needed to organize where people are living, working and how much they have bred. Hell it would be almost real time!
What, did you think your tax dollars were going to useful things?
Drop the census, just estimate.
I'm enjoying all the commercials. It's a snapshot of America! I'm totally stoked to fill that form out when it arrives. I'm gonna put so many numbers on it, this will be the best census ever!
Mofos census notes:
Income : $48.00 annually combined
Adults living in household : 7
Children living in household : 23.2
This guy can't wait:
Don't do it! They are going to tattoo a number on you forehead!!
DrBoost wrote:Drop the census, just estimate.
IIRC the Census Bureau proposed moving to a statistical sampling method a couple of years ago to make the process simpler and less involved. It got shot down by Congress. It seems many members were afraid it might somehow give more votes to their opposing party.
Just wondering how many millions of $$$ got spent on ads and postage to tell us that our govt is going to be doing what they have been mandated to do by our fearless leaders.
Makes me glad I live in the Canadian state of Trashdumpigan.
Type Q wrote:DrBoost wrote:Drop the census, just estimate.
IIRC the Census Bureau proposed moving to a statistical sampling method a couple of years ago to make the process simpler and less involved. It got shot down by Congress. It seems many members were afraid it might somehow give more votes to their opposing party.
And there you have the crux of it. Voting blocs, and potential redistricting.
Census data is really pretty neat.Statscan (the organization responsible for ours) has historical data going back to the first Canadian census on its website. I believe in a census -- of course, I studied a lot of demography at university, so I am somewhat biased.
John Brown wrote:Apparently there are about 399 million idiots living within our borders. The preemptive letter is necessary.
With todays technology why do we really need a census? Seriously! Build a database that merges drivers license info, banking info, real estate info, power company info, cell phone info, facebook info, tax return info as well as any other info needed to organize where people are living, working and how much they have bred. Hell it would be almost real time!
That's exactly what we DON'T need!!
My answer= three people live here, Two adults, one minor. You dont need to know how many toilets I have, how much money i make, how far i drive to work, how long my hootus is. The founding fathers specified a head count. Done.
porksboy wrote:My answer= three people live here, Two adults, one minor. You dont need to know how many toilets I have, how much money i make, how far i drive to work, how long my hootus is. The founding fathers specified a head count. Done.
Exactly - certainly nothing will go down for "race" or any other such random unnecessary topic.
oldtin wrote:Just wondering how many millions of $$$ got spent on ads and postage to tell us that our govt is going to be doing what they have been mandated to do by our fearless leaders.
I've always been of the mindset to not ask questions that you don't want to know the answers to, but since you asked.......
From the US Census Bureau press release.
.......The life cycle cost for the Reengineered 2010 Census was estimated at $11.8 billion in the FY 2009 Budget Request, including $1.8 billion for the American Community Survey which replaced the long-form. The new estimated life cycle cost for the 2010 Census is $13.7 to $14.5 billion.......
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/2010_census/011773.html
Somebody had to fill that spot between the Pepsi and GoDaddy commercials during the Super Bowl. 
On the Canadian census they don't offer "Canadian" as a possibility on the ethnic heritage question, so I write it in. I figure 5 generations and 150 years puts me as a natural born canuck.
John Brown wrote:Apparently there are about 399 million idiots living within our borders. The preemptive letter is necessary.
With todays technology why do we really need a census? Seriously! Build a database that merges drivers license info, banking info, real estate info, power company info, cell phone info, facebook info, tax return info as well as any other info needed to organize where people are living, working and how much they have bred. Hell it would be almost real time!
Here in California, especially the Southern half, we have about 10-12 million "undocumented workers". They don't have a driver's license (or insurance for that matter), don't have a bank account (all money sent to Mexico), and don't file for taxes. So they need a more convential questionare. Although most of them are paranoid that "the man" will come get them, so I doubt they will fill them out anyway.
Haha, I'm not sure what I should do, as in a week I'll be resident in two locations (my apt and recently purchased house). Should I pick an address and say I live there, risking bureaucrat kerfluffle or become 2 people, which is probably less forgivable. The census is tearing me apart!
GregTivo wrote:Haha, I'm not sure what I should do, as in a week I'll be resident in two locations (my apt and recently purchased house). Should I pick an address and say I live there, risking bureaucrat kerfluffle or become 2 people, which is probably less forgivable. The census is tearing me apart!
Put down the address where you're spending the most time. Unless you're spending exactly 50.00000% in both locations.
In reply to stuart in mn:
GregTivo wrote:Haha, I'm not sure what I should do, as in a week I'll be resident in two locations (my apt and recently purchased house). Should I pick an address and say I live there, risking bureaucrat kerfluffle or become 2 people, which is probably less forgivable. The census is tearing me apart!
I'm in exactly this situation. I'll most likely be moving to the house in a couple weeks, but for now I'm still at the apartment. House = 2 car garage yay me. And the fiance has told me that to help with the longer commute and the mileage on my Subaru. I get $1000 to get a DD or maybe a project car in disguise.
I have a friend that works for the USPS. Census forms are already in the system. Delivery started this past Saturday.
