Are you required to fill out the US Census American Community Survey too?

[tennisWalt]

I got a US Census American Community Survey to fill out. I can not believe the personal and private information they are asking.

This is the letter I sent back to them,

Dear Sir,

Please send me a copy of the law that requires me to fill out the American Community Survey. I need to have my lawyer review this law first. While I have no problem giving you information about who lives at this address, I find that many of the other questions are personal and private in nature.

As a Dentist I can not ask certain questions of new Employees such as their Race, Ethnic Origin, Income, and mortgage payments . What gives you that right?

Considering the fact that vast amount of other information that the US Government has not been able to keep secret such as medical records from the VA, I really do not feel that this is information I can trust you with and information that you need to have on file.

Walt

[Keitht]

Why don't you simply fill in the bits you are happy to fill in and leave the rest blank. If leaving the other sections blank is not an option then enter false information. Either way it will screw their survey a bit.

I have to agree that 'official' surveys seem to request an awful lot of personal information and I don't agree with that either.

[tennisWalt]

Originally Posted by Keitht

Why don't you simply fill in the bits you are happy to fill in and leave the rest blank. If leaving the other sections blank is not an option then enter false information. Either way it will screw their survey a bit.

I have to agree that 'official' surveys seem to request an awful lot of personal information and I don't agree with that either.

Armed with the information that the US Census is asking, Identity Theft would be a walk in the park.

Walt



Some Question in this survey.

At what location did this person work LAST WEEK?

For whom did this person work?

Gross Income in the past 12 months?

Becasue of a Physical, mental, or emotional condition last 6 months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities?

Is the grandparent currently responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchildren under the age of 18.

Has this person ever served on active duty in the US Armed Forces, military Reserves, or National Guards?

Last Week, was this person on layoff from a job?

What is the value of this property?

How much is the regular monthly mortgage payments of this property?

[tennisWalt]

Originally Posted by tennisWalt

Armed with the information that the US Census is asking, Identity Theft would be a walk in the park.

Walt



Some Question in this survey.

At what location did this person work LAST WEEK?

For whom did this person work?

Gross Income in the past 12 months?

Becasue of a Physical, mental, or emotional condition last 6 months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities?

Is the grandparent currently responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchildren under the age of 18.

Has this person ever served on active duty in the US Armed Forces, military Reserves, or National Guards?

Last Week, was this person on layoff from a job?

What is the value of this property?

How much is the regular monthly mortgage payments of this property?

I just saw this on another site about the ACS


When I moved to Florida in 1991 I was required to provide my social security number to the Driver’s License Department. No number no license. It was for “internal use”.

Twelve years later I am working for a Florida County Government and get an email saying that the state sells all my personal information to private mailing lists including my SSN unless I go to www.myflorida.com and opt out. I did opt out but I was 12 years to late.

I will never trust any government office to keep information private. The best I can tell the government is one big data collection agency for retailers.

If you check your state you will probably find they are selling your personal data.

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

The American Community Survey plus the SSN could equal a BIG PROBLEM.

Walt

[sreiml8]

Kentucky until a while back used our Social Security number as our license number on the license. That was nuts!

American Community Survey: Must I respond? Question Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
Answer Yes. Response to this survey is required by law (Section 221 of Title 13). Respondents are required to answer all questions on the American Community Survey (ACS) to the best of their ability. Your answers are very important because they represent the answers of many other similar households in your community. The data that you and others provide in response to this survey are required to manage or evaluate federal and state government programs. If you submit an incomplete form or provide data that are unclear, we will may contact you by phone or in person to obtain or clarify the missing information.
The ACS is part of the Decennial Census Program. It is a survey that is sent to a small percentage of our population on a rotating basis. These data previously were collected only in census years in conjunction with the decennial census. Since the ACS is conducted every year, rather than once every ten years, it will provide more current data throughout the decade. The Census Bureau may use the information it collects only for statistical purposes. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you, and all other respondents, strictly confidential.

[Keitht]

The detail required looks rather like a 'Staff Survey' where I used to work. It was supposedly anonymous, but you had to say which location you were at, which department and what grade. Although there were over 600 people in our location there were only 6 in my department and only me on my grade. Very anonymous - not.

[tennisWalt]

Originally Posted by sreiml8

Kentucky until a while back used our Social Security number as our license number on the license. That was nuts!

American Community Survey: Must I respond? Question Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
Answer Yes. Response to this survey is required by law (Section 221 of Title 13). Respondents are required to answer all questions on the American Community Survey (ACS) to the best of their ability. Your answers are very important because they represent the answers of many other similar households in your community. The data that you and others provide in response to this survey are required to manage or evaluate federal and state government programs. If you submit an incomplete form or provide data that are unclear, we will may contact you by phone or in person to obtain or clarify the missing information.
The ACS is part of the Decennial Census Program. It is a survey that is sent to a small percentage of our population on a rotating basis. These data previously were collected only in census years in conjunction with the decennial census. Since the ACS is conducted every year, rather than once every ten years, it will provide more current data throughout the decade. The Census Bureau may use the information it collects only for statistical purposes. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you, and all other respondents, strictly confidential.

Title 13

Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully
neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized
officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency
thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized
officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions
on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey
provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title,
applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related,
or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall
be fined not more than $100.

I would rather the $100 fine and keep my personal freedom.

Walt

http://www.epic.org/privacy/census/

Risks of the Census

The census performs many useful functions for society. However, there is widespread evidence of the misuse of census data. Hitler notably used the European Census in his conquests across Europe. The misuse of census data can be found in much of the world, including in our own nation. Even recently, privacy risks lead to public statements by politicians regarding the intrusiveness of census questions. The Washington Post quoted Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of encouraging citizens not to answer invasive questions.

[4ARedOctober]

Here we go again...Census time.

I just got my letter today warning me to be ready for my census questionair next week in the mail. I think this is the time to discuss this topic. I am sure you are getting your letters too.

The Census and the Constitution|Tenth Amendment Center

The Census and the Constitution

19. Feb, 2010


by Walter E. Williams

The Census Bureau estimates that the life cycle cost of the 2010 Census will be from $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion, making it the costliest census in the nation’s history. Suppose you suggest to a congressman that given our budget crisis, we could save some money by dispensing with the 2010 census. I guarantee you that he’ll say something along the lines that the Constitution mandates a decennial counting of the American people and he would be absolutely right. Article I, Section 2 of our constitution reads: “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.”

What purpose did the Constitution’s framers have in mind ordering an enumeration or count of the American people every 10 years? The purpose of the headcount is to apportion the number of seats in the House of Representatives and derived from that, along with two senators from each state, the number of electors to the Electoral College.

The Census Bureau tells us that this year, it will use a shorter questionnaire, consisting of only 10 questions. From what I see, only one of them serves the constitutional purpose of enumeration — namely, “How many people were living or staying at this house, apartment or mobile home on April 1, 2010?” The Census Bureau’s shorter questionnaire claim is deceptive at best.

The American Community Survey, long form, that used to be sent to 1 in 6 households during the decennial count, is now being sent to many people every year. Here’s a brief sample of its questions, and I want someone to tell me which question serves the constitutional function of apportioning the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives: Does this house, apartment, or mobile home have hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, a bathtub or shower, a sink with a faucet, a refrigerator, a stove? Last month, what was the cost of electricity for this house, apartment, or mobile home? How many times has this person been married?

After each question, the Bureau of the Census provides a statement of how the answer meets a federal need. I would prefer that they provide a statement of how answers to the questions meet the constitutional need as expressed in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

The Census Bureau also asks questions about race, and I want to know what does my race have to do with apportioning the U.S. House of Representatives? If I’m asked about race, I might respond the way I did when filling out a military form upon landing in Inchon, Korea in 1960; I checked off Caucasian. The warrant officer who was checking forms told me that I made a mistake and should have checked off “Negro.” I told him that people have the right to self-identify themselves and I’m Caucasian. The warrant officer, trying to cajole me, asked why I would check off Caucasian instead of Negro. I told him that checking off Negro would mean getting the worse job over here. I’m sure the officer changed it after I left.

Americans need to stand up to Washington’s intrusion into our private lives. What business of government is the number of times a citizen has been married or what he paid for electricity last month? For those who find such intrusion acceptable, I’d ask them whether they’d also find questions of their sex lives or their marriage fidelity equally acceptable.

What to do? Unless a census taker can show me a constitutional requirement, the only information I plan to give are the number and names of the people in my household. The census taker might say, “It’s the law.” Thomas Jefferson said, “Whensoever the General Government (Washington) assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.”

Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University, and a nationally syndicated columnist.

[Pstreet1]

One attorney we know says we are not requirred to do the community survey; he says his went into the waste basket.

[itchyfeet]

Paranoia is alive and well in this country. All of the information sought on the census is available from other sources if the government really wanted to get it. And since when is the US government compared to Hitler's? My now deceased husband grew up in Nazi Germany and believe me from what he told me about it, this country is nothing like Hitler's Nazi Germany!