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 |  Subject: Listen up, serfs: Census participation is mandatory. Noncompliance carries a fine of up to $5000 and deliberate falsifications, up to $10,000  Sat Mar 07, 2020 12:52 am | |
| 2020 Census: Separating facts from fiction
In the midst of election mania, it’s easy to forget something else is just around the corner.
Unfortunately, a significant portion of the population will see the decennial Census as an annoyance and ignore it, while a smaller subset will see an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Countering these attitudes is challenging but necessary, because too much rides on getting it right.
We know that census data determine numbers of Congressional seats, how districts are drawn, and how electoral votes are allocated, but there’s much more. Age, gender, and race also factor into the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding for more than 100 programs, including Head Start, Medicaid, food stamps, children’s health insurance (CHIP), foster care, housing assistance, and roads and other infrastructure.
Local governments use the data for city planning and development. Businesses use them in decisions about opening stores, restaurants, factories, and offices. What products should they offer? Will there be enough workers to hire?
The Census Bureau compares its own data to birth and death records to identify miscounts. In 2010, they overcounted by 0.01%, down from 0.5% in 2000. These are mostly affluent older whites who own multiple homes and were counted twice. Undercounting is more serious. In 2010, about 2.1% of blacks, 1.5% Hispanics, 5% indigenous people on reservations, and about 2% of other ethnic or racial minorities were missed (CBS News 05/22/12). These groups often live in what’s described as “hard-to-count places,” and despite vigorous outreach efforts, some still fall through the cracks. Undercounts threaten funding for federal, state, and local programs badly needed in these underserved areas.
Children, newborn through age four, comprise the largest undercounted group. Up to 4.6% were missed in 2010. People were confused about how to count them, although this year’s form has been revised to help with that. Babies are overlooked. Children may not live with their parents, may be in joint custody or in extended or nontraditional families, may be homeless or displaced by natural disasters. Undercounting jeopardizes programs kids need over the next decade, including school funding.
Donald Trump’s proposed citizenship question may not have been crafted to deter participation by immigrants, but the threat alone has had that effect, and the Bureau has spent millions trying to counter it. Immigrant groups criticized Bureau outreach ads for not explicitly stating it had been withdrawn, but the ads were created before the decision came down (Washington Post, 01/14/20).
Major social media providers have promised to block deliberate disinformation campaigns designed to deter participation, but myths and misconceptions are harder to counter. A recent Census Bureau study showed that two-thirds of Americans had only a cursory understanding of the process. Seventy-five percent didn’t know participation was mandatory. Twenty-five percent were concerned their information would be shared, and 25% that it could be used against them.
Some prominent people are contributing to the confusion. Former Sen. Trent Lott (NBC News, 04/02/18) and former AG Jeff Sessions (Washington Times, 04/25/18) both claimed people could skip questions they didn’t want to answer. Former Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed that the Constitution only required counting the number of people in a household and nothing else. Libertarian Party Executive Director Daniel Fishman suggested direct sabotage: “There is a point that if enough people don’t answer it, they don’t have a good statistical model.” (Washington Times, 01/01/20)
In 1954 Congress codified all census laws into the Title 13 U.S. Code. Court rulings over 200+ years have authorized gathering data other than just headcounts, assured that the Census doesn’t violate the 1st or 4th Amendments, and ruled that all residents, not just citizens, be counted.
For Census workers, confidentiality violations carry a five-year prison sentence and/or a $250,000 fine. Data can’t be shared with ANYONE outside the Bureau, including welfare agencies, immigration, IRS, courts, police, intelligence, or the military. Individuals cannot be identified from census statistics.
Participation is mandatory. Noncompliance carries a fine of up to $5000 and deliberate falsifications, up to $10,000, although prosecutions are rare. If you have trouble answering, don’t worry. Help is available. This is the first time the Census Bureau has relied on a completely digitalized platform for data gathering, storage, and analysis. Despite some delays and glitches, it seems to be on track for rollout in April. Every household will get an online form (available in 13 languages), but it’s recognized that not everybody has reliable internet access or can easily respond. If you can’t reply online, you’ll get a paper form in the mail. Census takers may also visit in person to help or you can respond by phone.
For more information and to see sample forms check out the Bureau’s website, 2020Census.gov
https://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinion/2020/03/06/washburn-2020-census-separating-facts-fiction/4978594002/
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