American Community Survey
Welcome to the June 2008 Edition of Patriot Music News!
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Matt Fitzgibbons |
After 4 years without a vacation, I just returned from a badly-needed sightseeing trip of some of liberty's birthplaces (more to come in future editions). I began in Philadelphia at Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
In it, the Founding Fathers both defined legitimate government's sole function as protecting "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", and they detailed their reasons for the separation with Great Britain, including the following complaint about King George III:
"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."
A week later, I heard the same line proclaimed by a historical reenactor from a balcony in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.
When I returned home, there was a packet waiting in my mailbox from the U.S. Census Bureau called "The American Community Survey", otherwise known as the U.S. Census "long form". (Just because this has not happened to you yet does not mean it won't. It's only a matter of time.) There was also a letter mailed some days beforehand announcing the "soon to arrive" packet. Today, exactly 1 week later, was a post card reminding me to fill it out. Others report that the phone calls will begin soon, with personal visits by U.S. Department of Commerce employees next.
According to the enclosed instruction booklet (with the caption "Helping You Make Informed Decisions"), responses are mandatory:
Of course, I needn't be concerned, they assure me. All data will be kept confidential... just as private and safe as all other data is kept. The invasive questions include:
• My "race" (quotations added)
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The "race" of my grandparents (quotations added)
• My marital status
• My
education level
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The approximate value of my home
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How much I pay for health and property insurance
• My annual income
• My
job description
• What time I leave home for work
• How many days of work I have missed in the last two weeks
• Whether my physical, mental, or emotional condition prevent me from visiting a doctor or shopping
• How well I speak English
• etc.
Among the other details about the "American Community Survey", the U.S. Census Bureau's website says,
"Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000."
So, according to them, I would be in violation of U.S. Law and will be fined up to $5000 for refusing to tell them what they need to know so they can "Help Me Make Informed Decisions". Well, according to the U.S. Constitution, the Census is to be held every 10 years to apportion the number of Representatives.
"[An] 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." U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section II.
This means that in 2010, they will be Constitutionally entitled to know the number of adult citizens living in my home. Nothing more. My right to free speech as enshrined in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights also guarantees my right to silence. And the Fifth Amendment protects me from "self-incrimination". It seems to me that my decision is an informed one already. How could telling bureaucrats how many weeks I worked last year, or how many food stamps I used make it any more informed?
Many regimes throughout history, such as Nazi Germany, used census data to gather important information about their victims. Slavery was once legal here as well, and the Supreme Court decisions at the time which upheld it still did not make it right.
Here is the entire American Community Survey
And here is the information booklet
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