I mailed ours a couple of weeks ago. I shouldn't say "I" mailed it...I filled it out and gave it to DH to mail, thinking he would probably throw it away instead of mailing it. For some reason he doesn't want the gov to know he exists, like they don't know already. LOL

I got a second census form the other day, telling me that they didn't receive my form and I should fill the new one out, or they would send someone to my door to get it.

(DH insists he mailed it, but I know he didn't!)

I thought it was the law.

It is mandatory. If you don't send it back, you'll get a visit from a census worker. I believe the census is part of the US Constitution, that a count of citizens every ten years is required.

What actually is the problem? Really - it asks how many live in the house, and when, and that's pretty much it.

If your or your DH's paranoia level is that high, I assume you live off the grid and don't pay your taxes, either. If you do pay your taxes (and I hope you do!) the government already knows where you live. Being counted for the census won't change that.

It also doesn't hurt. You don't even need a stamp.

And yes, it is mandatory. If they notice you didn't fill it out, you may be visited in person (OOH - HORRORS!! then they'll REALLY know about you!).

Fill it out. Send it in. Paranoia really doesn't serve you or your community well.

It's true, they will come knocking on your door. We didn't fill ours out last time, it became a big pain in the butt. So this time, I mailed it off.

Ditto what Mary_c said. It really doesn't take any effort. I don't get what the big deal is!

I mailed mine back the day it arrived and it took all of maybe 2 minutes. If that's effort, well then, shame, shame...

I don't understand the reluctance to filling out the form and returning it.

I don't think anyone in the Census Bureau is interested in us individuals to the extent they are gathering info on anyone.

The information received through the Census is used for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. that a community receives. It impacts the number of congressional seats a state receives. It impacts which programs receive funding in our communities.

Important? Yes.

Sue

Ditto to Sue va. It's just a head count like a roll call on a forum to see how many people there are. Took me all of 2 minutes to fill out and seal the postage paid envelope.

We end up spending millions of extra taxpayer dollars to follow up on people who refuse to just fill it out immediately and be done with it. What a waste of money.

It really is just a how many, where, and when, sort of question.

My DH wanted to know if we should count our son, who is away at university.

Well - NO. He doesn't live with us right this minute. He needs to be counted where he lives. Because even though he will likely be living here over the summer, the census wants to know the student population in college/university towns.

So he's a penniless grad student, and we partially support him. BUT he LIVES there, and that town needs to accommodate other penniless grad students in the future. Cities with colleges and universities, and the itinerant populations they support, need the government support for roads, hospitals, etc.

So he's counted there, not here.

Do us all a favor. Fill out the form. Don't make the census people visit you.

I didn't receive one...again. I've never received one. No one has ever shown up to count me either. The old man that I take care of...didn't receive one. Likewise, no one has shown up to count him.

If anyone is keeping a talley...you can add three to it. ;)

"If your or your DH's paranoia level is that high, I assume you live off the grid and don't pay your taxes, either...................Fill it out. Send it in. Paranoia really doesn't serve you or your community well."

You assume??? Where did that come from??

The official proclamation is that the census bureau does not turn over the data collected to the IRS to ferret out non-taxpayers. Nor do they turn over info to the immigration office to track down illegal aliens BTW. Nor is the data used to arrest unmarried couples who live together. And what not.

That is the official stance.

But................. Census data was used to arrest
Japanese-Americans during WW2, even though being an American of Japanese decent was not a crime at the time the census was taken; who knows what may become illegal in the future?

Americans do fear, and rightfully so, since it has happened in the past, that the data collected may be used to put them in prison - not because they did not pay their taxes but for other reasons like being the "wrong" race. It HAS happened in the past. People are bound to be skittish.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=confirmed-the-us-census-b&sc=I100322

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-30-census-role_N.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Article

We filled ours out and sent it in.

It is simple to fill out, BUT I think some of the questions are questionable.

If, like Jannie said, the constitution says we must count the CITIZENS every 10 years -- then why do they ask what race we are and NOT ask if we are a CITIZEN of this country?

College towns need to count the students because of the resources the students use, library, etc. In my town they need to know how many students are here to plan for police and hospital resources. The students here drink A LOT and get picked up off the sidewalks when they pass out.

They need to know what race everyone is, so they'll know which races are minorities, and which aren't.

Yes it's required to fill it out. Will you do jail time for not filling it out? I doubt it. Might you get by without filling it out? Maybe. Or maybe you'll get a visit. AFAIC there should be a fine imposed for not doing it to offset some of the expense of having to follow up on people who dodge it. There's far better things to be paranoid about than the census IMO.

*You* aren't required to fill it out, just someone at the residence.

Some people who are so scared of the census, I just want to tell them to move to a country that doesn't take one. Afraid to put down how many people live there yet people will give a life history, DNA samples and sign over a first-born to get a credit card or buy a car. It's really silliness.

BTW the census is also used to determine how many congressional representatives you get. It's based on population. And let's not get into a political debate, just share a fact.

Good Grief - If you don't want any public tax
monies in your areas, by all means - don't fill out.
Or better yet - put down my address. I want all I
can get for my area - as has already been mentioned -
it forms a base for population and how much is needed
for roads, schools, libraries, Senate/Rep Seats, etc.
etc.

And -- for heaven's sake. Read the Constitution - it's
mandated in there!!!

It's mandatory and patriotic...and just plain silly not to send it in. And...future generations might be interested for geneology purposes. How many of you are into geneology and found long lost relatives through census rolls taken years ago. I know we would like to rebel against "big brother", but there are better ways to do it.

If anyone still has their outside envelope, does it say anything like "do not forward" or "return to sender"? We split our time equally between NC and OH. We were in NC when the census form arrived there. Did not receive a forwarded one from our address in OH. The form says basically "who lives here on 4/1?". Well our transition day (NC to OH) was 4/1! We were in both places that day! Decided to just list our daughter in NC and we would list ourselves in OH. Got back to OH and...no form! I suppose we can expect a visit...

Anyway, just wondering if forms are not forwarded with other mail.

I have no idea if they do not forward the forms. The forms do not have regular paid postage on them and are hand delivered by postal workers, so maybe there are different rules.

The government has put out information to help anyone who has not received a form to fill out.

If you don't receive your form by April 12:

Call: (866) 872-6868

For help in Spanish, call: (866) 928-2010

For TDD, hearing impaired, call: (866) 783-2010

Web site: 2010census.gov

More contact info: 2010.census.gov/2010census/contact/index.php

Well I filled mine out because it is the law and there is a hefty fine etc. if you dont. I did call them about some questions I had concerns over. I felt they didnt really need my birthdate, phone number or whether or not I lived in my house free and clear, or had a mortgage or home equity loan on it. What does having a mortgage or home equity loan have to do with how many people live there? And by the way, there were two guys renting a house down the street from us that had taken in 9 illegal aliens over the past month who just got busted. Did they have to fill out the census if they are just renting? Or does the census go to the homeowner? Does it go to the address? Or is it addressd to resident? Im asking because I never looked at the outside of the envelope. And where it said they need my phone number in case they had questions they could call me, I wrote a note to have them call me, because when I called them about the mortgage/home equity issue I got two different answers. So now Im counted and confused!!

It's sent to the 'street" address...not to a person's name..

and to those that live rurally and don't have mail delivery..while your local authorities (city/county/township) may know you live on 1234 Sunny Lane...if you get mail at the Post Office..the government has no idea in this case that you live @ 1234 Sunny Lane... So it's likely that those people will never get anything from the Census Bureau...so that's what the phone number is for..

I live out in the country behind locked gates. I have never had a census mailed or hand delivered to me. However, I do know the "nosiest man in town". lol He was a former mayor and knows everyone and everything regarding city and county happenings. I call him and he calls someone who is a census taker and they deliver a form to him and I pick it up. What a pita but it gets the job done.

I don't understand why some people don't want to fill out a census form either, but I know there are many people who do not want to, for whatever reason.

I think some of them are the "government conspiracy" types who think the government does secret things and are out to "get them" or use their information against them somehow.

There seems to be a lot of those on the web on different sites in various discussions I've seen about the census.

The government used the Census to round up the Japanese-Americans during WW2. A law was passed that it can't be used like that now but I think some people are still paranoid about it.

This census form was one of the simplest ever. Mine did not ask in which state or country my parents were born in. This question has been in censuses since 1840, but not in this one. Genealogists have used this information to straigthen out family trees, but it is missing in this census. By the way, census information is not released to the public until it is old, something like 70 years old.

The census data is used to determine how tax money is distributed and the number of representatives your state will have in congress. The data is also used to re-draw your congressional districts.

"The government used the Census to round up the Japanese-Americans during WW2. A law was passed that it can't be used like that now but I think some people are still paranoid about it."

Yes indeed. There was a law in place BEFORE the war that the census info could not be used like that. But as we already know, if there is a law in place that makes it inconvenient to carry out an agenda, the government 'just changes the law' to suit their goal. The Japanese-Americans could be rounded up after the Second War Powers Act was passed in 1942.

Ergo, many people feel that if the government decided they needed the census data for whatever purposes, that they will just merely come up with a new law to make the data accessible to them. Easy-peezy.

There are some easy steps to take to protect yourself during census taking time.

Always ask for identification from a person claiming to be from the census bureau. Don't just rely on the fact that a person is wearing red/white/blue colors or has a patriotic looking logo on their baseball cap.

Never allow a census worker into your home.

Do not answer any questions that are not on the census forms. DO NOT give anyone your social security number, any information about your banking, or where your kids go to school or what parks they play in, whether you work day/night or when you are usually home/away. Just use common sense. Verify that you are talking to a legitimate census worker first and always remember there is no way to know if a true census worker will "go rogue". Don't get "chatty" with them.

And before any one posts to ask if the "online census form" they got in their email is legit, the answer is NO!

There are crooks out there who are going to use the confusion about the ongoing census to take advantage of the naive and ignorant.

There is nothing the regular census asks that scares me. The government already has access to all the answers to the questions asked.

Actually I could probably answer those questions about some of the posters on this forum given all the information some of you post about yourselves.

I am simply annoyed at the redundant questions and the ridiculous categorizing of race. The idiots who came up with the questions don't seem to have any grasp of the difference between race and ethnicity.

I don't believe there is a way to get an accurate count the way they are going about it. I mean they are walking around parks counting homeless people. That group count changes every day.

I don't mind the census so much as the waste of taxpayer dollars to run t the way they are doing it.

In answer to the argument that we need the census to provide services ,hospitals,schools etc. why don't they just audit those services and see how many people they actually serve and turn away. That would be a more accurate figure than a head count. For example you could have a neighborhood that has lots of school aged children. The knee-jerk reaction is that more classrooms would be needed. But if many of those children in that neighborhood were home schooled or in private school then that would not necessarily be true. Much better to count the classrooms and the student populations of the schools. You can't plan hospitals on population alone, you need to know how much of that population actually uses the local hospital and what they use it for.

That leaves the only real reason for a head count to be the ability to buy congressional seats and siphon government money for pet projects.

I refused to fill out the American Community Survey because it was downright invasive but I don't have a problem with the census other than it's dumb.

We answered the first question only on our census form - the one that asks how many people live full time at this address? That is the only question on the form that is constitutionally mandated, the other questions weren't. Birthdate, race, telephone number and mortgage information questions were not only invasive, but unnecessary. If the true purpose of the census is to collect population information for tax money distribution, all they need to know is the answer to that first question, nothing more!

We have yet to get ours...We have a PO box and they say, those haven't been mailed, bummer.....

The reluctance to filling out the census reminds me of a friend that wasn't going to fill out the form to get the stimulus...She kept saying, she didn't want her name on the government rolls because she hasn't had to pay taxes for years...I told her, the government knows exactly how much money she has, what she does with it and everything else she does....Silly, silly, silly.....

"By the way, census information is not released to the public until it is old, something like 70 years old."

It is not released for 72 years.