With regard to the powers granted to the Congress as they pertain to counting the total population of the United States, Article 1, Section 2 states that for determining the number of Representatives and Electoral College Votes for the individual states: "The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct." Therefore, as we discuss the various details of the 2010 Census, we must be mindful of both its intended and unintended purposes.
The Congress, through these above mentioned powers, can decide what questions are asked of the people, while also determining the budget of the Census Bureau. They also dictate the detailed terms of each conducted survey. The Census, like many other parts of the Constitution, has evolved to include previously excluded populations; such as American Indians, women, and African American’s. The Census Bureau is ultimately in charge of executing the enumeration process. In addition, under privacy laws, Census data does not become part of the public record until 72 years after the date of a given Census. Therefore fears of private information being made public are completely unfounded. To put this in perspective, consider that the results of the 1940 Census will not be made public until April 1, 2012.
Still, many people continue to give in to misinformation fermented mainly by fear of government intrusion. Some members of Congress, such as Rep. Michelle Bachmann, said they would refuse to fill out the entire 2010 Census form because of dreamed up fears about the role of the now non-existent ACORN in the door to door counting process; stating in June of 2009: “I think what the threat of ACORN would be the deluding of the ballot box and the effectiveness of our vote," she said. "They will be in charge of going door to door and collecting data from the American public, this is very concerning.” Ironically, despite her apparent fear of ACORN foot soldiers, she voted “Aye” on H.R. 1096: A measure encouraging individuals across the US to participate in the 2010 census. It’s this kind of obvious, fear driven cynicism that is dangerous to the integrity of our government, and a giant disservice to the information seeking citizens of that official’s district or state.
The fact of the matter is; in order for our elected officials to effectively garner the appropriate level of funding for national, state and local projects, an accurate head count of the number of individuals in a given district, state, and the nation must be done as required by the Constitution, and for responsible democratic governing. Without the Census to guide money streams, there would essentially be huge disproportion of funding for communities across the nation. In addition, the future funding of local schools, hospitals, law enforcement, roads, and more, are at stake.
There are only two reasons not to fill out the Census; fear and laziness. As of the writing of this article, only 54% of Americans had mailed back their Census form. This low level of initial participation is both costly and inexcusable. There are only 10 simple questions to answer, and it takes you no more than 10 minutes. There is a even a return envelope with free postage included with your Census package. Those who are a frugal, yet still hesitant, should take note that it will cost an additional allotment of taxpayer funds to foot count those who refuse to mail in their forms.
The information we gain also allows us to know more about ourselves as a people, and provides agencies with valuable demographical information that we can use to improve the quality of life for all Americans. If you truly care about your community, and feel vested in the future of your state as well as your country; do the right thing, be counted, fill out and mail in your 2010 Census form today.
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