The American Community Survey – Complete this or else

by YankeeJim | January 16, 2012 at 06:03 pm

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48 questions, 28 pages, 250,000 per month

Daniel Freedman beat me to it, writing about the subject survey from the US Department of Commerce Census Bureau.

A few years ago, a census taker managed to penetrate our building security and was found wandering the halls, accosting people with forms and demanding that we complete the census. OK, I was busy and didn’t get it done in time, so this guy shows up and insists on coming into my place to ask me all of the questions. He would complete everything with his #2 pencil and all I had to do was sign the results.

He was chatty. He told me how he had lost his job at a big name firm and now he was doing this until something else came along. He would ask the official questions and then free lance with his chit chat. I didn’t appreciate it and wrote a funny story about his visit.

Next thing you know, I get an email from the guy inquiring about my interest in a business deal. You and I both know that wasn’t right. I asked him to knock it off and I haven’t heard from him since.

Then, last year, I was slow for various reasons in getting my form complete and next thing you know I have an appointment at my place with a grandmotherly person who asked the questions and completed the business in a professional manner.

This year, we got this 28 page form called The American Community Survey asking very detailed questions about our income and living expenses and lots of personal demographic data. One question, what are your monthly utilities – electric, gas, water, etc. My bill is bundled and I don’t have the breakout. The form doesn’t allow for me to explain that. If I leave the question blank, I know they will be sending someone to my place for the answers so I am going to estimate.

I know they have all of this information on me somewhere, but Congress hasn’t given them permission to mine it, so they just come into your face with a big fat survey to collect it first hand.

“The Orwellian American Community Survey

Overreach.

12:00 AM, APR 1, 2010 • BY DANIEL FREEDMAN

The American Community Survey wasn't around when Ronald Reagan declared that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." If it was, he'd probably agree that having a government representative knock on your door, try to threaten their way into your home, and demand that you give them very personal information is far more terrifying.

My nightmare started in January when I received the American Community

Survey (ACS) form in the mail. The ACS is an extension of the U.S. Census that all households receive. While the U.S. Census form contains 10 questions and is sent out every 10 years, the ACS form contains 48 questions and is sent to 250,000 households each month on a rolling basis.

The ACS itself is a lesson in government overreach. Article 1 of the Constitution allows for a census every 10 years so that seating in Congress is proportional to state populations. Lawmakers gave the Commerce Department the power to ask more questions, and it took the power and ran, and ran, with it -- ending up asking questions unrelated to districting. (ACS answers, according to its website, are to help "manage or evaluate federal and state government programs" -- not to help with congressional seating.)”