The American Community Survey

[keith]

I just received this survey from the US Census Bureau. It is the most outrageous invasion of our rights that I have ever seen. I just sent an e-mail to all my friends (both of them) and I wish I had made a copy to post here.

It is very invasive asking questions about your family background, homeownership status, income, employment, and personal medical information. Its 28 pages long. I can't believe the government needs to know this much detail about my life. Actually they probably do already know this information, just not all in one place.

Here are a couple of web sites about it, there is also an official government web site, but you can easily find that for yourself.

http://www.survivalarts.com/archives/001095.html

I'm signature number 732 here

http://www.petitiononline.com/STOPACS/petition.html

Where is the ACLU?

[Petros]

This just the congress looking for information to justify more boondoggle big budget programs to "help" us. These surveys are mandated by congress, I am surprised they have become that big, I filled one out about 20 years ago but it was only about 5 pages IIRC. likely only the unemployed or people permanently dependent on the government would have time to fill that out, giving them real slanted data.

The census is mandated by the US Constitution, but the only information they are entitled to is how many people live permanently at that address, and perhaps the ages of the people there, and that is it. The rest of the invasiveness is there only to justify their fraudulent rip-off social utopia spending programs (mostly designed to funnel money into certain special interest groups).

Mark Twain wrote in the mid 1800's "no man's life, liberty or property are safe when Congress is in session". Things have not changed much, except for the worse.

[neonsport]

I was living on my own during the 1990 census, and I didn't return the form. I returned to my apartment a few times to find a note taped to my door asking me to call to schedule an in-person census. I didn't. It wasn't till somebody knocked on my door at 10:30 PM that I realized they weren't going to leave me alone till I complied.

[otter63]

Yeah, they're pretty persistent. I actually got the same type of note pasted to my door, and I guess I wasn't home when they came back, cuz I never filled it out. Didn't know how, either, as I was living in two different places at the time.

From what I have heard, most people get the "short" 5 page form, but the lucky ones get the 28 pager.

As a user of the census data (I make maps with it), I have to say that it's pretty useful, although it does feel invasive when it's you giving the information. The only thing that might make you feel any better is that the general public will not be able to look up your information individually. The smallest group they can look at is the census "block", which would contain aggregated information for several dozen homes.

[takza]

I got the 5 pager...claimed they sent it... but didn't....did it over the phone. "They" already have all that info anyway...g-boys buy it from private sources. You are surveilled continually anyway. Prison planet....

Supposed to be a statistically random sampling with no indentifiers. Right.

The herd grazes restlessly as the storm approaches.....

[keith]

As a user of the census data (I make maps with it), I have to say that it's pretty useful,

How is my personal medical and financial information important in map making?

[Neu]

As a user of the census data (I make maps with it), I have to say that it's pretty useful,

How is my personal medical and financial information important in map making?

You only have to fill out some stuff, not all of it.

[otter63]

As a user of the census data (I make maps with it), I have to say that it's pretty useful,

How is my personal medical and financial information important in map making?

Don't know what kind of medical info info they collect, cuz I've never seen that available, but the AGGREGATED financial information for a minimum of several dozen families can be used, for example, to map income levels across a city. Your personal information is not available.

[keith]

Been almost a month and I haven't heard from them yet, haven't sent it in either. I did fill it out with "decline to answer" on almost every question, just decided not to send it.

Spoke too soon, got another one in the mail today.

[otter63]

As I recall, the only way I got out of filling in that form was to not be home twice when they came by to follow up.

[keith]

NASA is going to shut down the Mars Rovers this year to save $4 million. These rovers are gathering information far more valuable that this survey. You can guess by now where I think the government can save $4 million or more.

[takza]

I'm guessing they feel it's more important to spy on voters than it is to spy on Martians. Cause you never know what a voter's going to do next?

Probably looking for that next pool of cheap labor....

[keith]

When I got home tonight, I found a not on my doorstep asking me to call them. I do hope they are holding their breath.

[keith]

On his fourth attempted, he caught me at home. I simply told him that I was not going to fill it out. He went into a slick salesman mode for a couple of minutes and when I got tired of listening, I told him my dinner was waiting and I still would not participate. He politely left.