Census 2010, Interesting questions.

Navy1960

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2008
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TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS

Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

(a) 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.

Census Law and Fines


"[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."

President Obama has decided to have the director of the U.S. Census Bureau work directly with the White House, the administration said today, a move that comes as the Census Bureau prepares to conduct the 2010 census that will determine redistricting of congressional seats........
Census Director to Work Directly with White House | 44 | washingtonpost.com

If by law the Census is to be conducted by the Commerce Dept. and it's officers, and a person fails to comply with the census because the White House had overstepped it's authority by law in this matter, how then is that person violating the law as the census taker themselves will be reporting to the wrong department perscribed by law.
 
I plan on just paying the $100 if they push the issue.
I will answer the basic questions as to number living in household, etc but not the rest.

Did they raise the fine? Per my research last year it was $50.
 
I will only answer the questions relating to criminal activities of people on this board and those relating to the North American Union
 
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I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.
 
Well here is a thought, you an always just hold your fingers out the door to indicate the number of people in your house, and have them count the fingers. The other information they are seeking is not needed.
 
Census data has become a marketing tool as much as anything else.
so all capitalists need to fill it out.
 
Personally the census never really bothered me too much to be honest, but it does seem that the White House supervising it, strikes me a little as turing something that should be non-political into something political. In doing so, it appears to make some a little skeptical as to the real purpose of the data then. If it is to be used to determine the number of Congressmen for each state then fine, but as a means to draw the lines in one partys favor or the other, then no. That is the reason why the census need only known the number really, the other data is not really needed other than for political purposes.
 
So, could I just give them $100.00 and tell them to get the hell off my property?

as long as you do not assualt them or anything yes. $100 is the max penalty.

According to the Washington Times, U.S. Census Bureau spokesperson Shelly Lowe indicated that, as paraphrased by a possibly sloppy Washington Times journalist, that “…a portion of the U.S. legal code that says anyone over 18 years of age who refuses to answer ‘any of the questions’ on the census can be fined up to $5,000.”
However, section 221 of Title 13, chapter 7, subchapter II states:
(a) 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.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a)
of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances
described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is
false, shall be fined not more than $500.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person
shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his
religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
Michele Bachmann will refuse to answer census questions | Coincidence Theories
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

They ask sex to. It is a simple matter for them to link this to your tax return for other information. The sex question is weird. Shouldn't it be a yes or no response?
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

what does my phone number have to do with the apportionment of house seats?
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

what does my phone number have to do with the apportionment of house seats?

According to the form its so they can call you if they don't understand any of your other answers.
 
That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

what does my phone number have to do with the apportionment of house seats?

According to the form its so they can call you if they don't understand any of your other answers.

and according to the form, a house cat could understand the other answers.
 
what does my phone number have to do with the apportionment of house seats?

According to the form its so they can call you if they don't understand any of your other answers.

and according to the form, a house cat could understand the other answers.

Don't forget - these are gubmint workers.... Odds are your cat has a greater capacity for interpretation than they do...
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

what does my phone number have to do with the apportionment of house seats?

Quite right.
 
I had thought about putting down drug dealing or money laundering for terrorists as my primary source of income just to test how confidential those records are.

That's not on the form.

All they ask is:

1. Number of people in house
2. Own or rent
3. Name
4. Phone number
5. Race

That's it. I understand the desire for privacy, but what objection to those questions could you possibly have?

Unless the federal government has changed its Census forms, the one posted is only the short form, and the long form that some people have to answer contains many more personal questions.
 

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