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Yeah, this is some other part of the Census called a "Current Population Survey" and it's apparently attempting to derive employment and unemployment rates and other things of that nature. I guess they're look for changes in employment status over a period of several months (to get an idea of the rate of change of employment in my area). I can perfectly understand why they would be doing this but I have personal reasons (shift hours, dog with bum leg that I paid a lot of money for, etc...) that come first and I'm trying to convey that to them.
About 6 years ago, I got the same treatment. They're after unemployment data. It's part of how they calculate unemployment rates.
AFAIK these things are mandatory but not enforced as such. That said, there's not much you can do to stop them from coming to your door however many times the policies and procedures say they have to. Best to either just answer or politely send them on their way however many times they show up -- but you really should answer, with the exception of the data on race (and you can just not answer that or write down American or put in a joke response or whatever) most of the information collected is used by the government and other consumers of it in productive ways that will benefit your community.
Just BECAUSE THEY say it is mandatory doesn't make it so.
The "survey" means nothing as it doesn't count for representatives in Congress.
The Supreme Court ruled on citizens' rights of privacy even against the FedGov back in 1984 and the case has never been overturned.
The Census is a count of people for representation in Congress.
That is the basis of the Census.
Anything beyond that is overreach by the government.
AFAIK these things are mandatory but not enforced as such. That said, there's not much you can do to stop them from coming to your door however many times the policies and procedures say they have to. Best to either just answer or politely send them on their way however many times they show up -- but you really should answer, with the exception of the data on race (and you can just not answer that or write down American or put in a joke response or whatever) most of the information collected is used by the government and other consumers of it in productive ways that will benefit your community.
The Census is mandatory as stated in the Constitution.
The "survey" is a law enacted by Congress.
I got the rural one several years ago but lost it so I never got to fill in all those pages of personal information and count of animals on my place.
This is also a terrible idea, because according to the US code they do in fact have authority to do this. Once more if you do get taken to court it will likely be a much more costly and time consuming process then even 8 survey visits.
If you are someone who supports the government extending its reach into every nook and cranny of your life and our society, or you are someone who is just to much of a coward to ever draw the line when confronted with this kind of outrageous behavior, then by all means, bend over and let them have their way with you. For many of the rest of us, that is not happening.
Especially when it appears that this "American Community Survey" performed by the Census Bureau is an unconstitutional over-reach by our government that they will not risk enforcement of for risk of having to explain themselves in court.
And your assertion that they claim that they do have the authority to do this - How naive can you possibly be? What do you expect them to say, that they don't have the authority? LOL. Of course not.
Here are a few more links about people's experience with this, for anyone who is interested:
This is also a terrible idea, because according to the US code they do in fact have authority to do this. Once more if you do get taken to court it will likely be a much more costly and time consuming process then even 8 survey visits.
how is answering your door for someone you do not know with a firearm in or on your person a crime?
heck, when i lived in Wisconsin, i have answered the door for cops with a firearm on my person. it is not like there is anything the census worker or the cops can do about it.
tell the ACS to get lost and stop bothering you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm
really? come to my door several times, because i will answer the door with said firearm in my hand. you can then call the cops and tell them what you saw, and then i get to tell them that you are stalking me, or i just happened to have the gun in my hand because i was getting ready to clean it, or the last time you showed up my mother complained that you were threatening her, or that she felt unsafe with you around. and then when i tell the cops that you were coming around several times even after being told to never come back, i suspect that the pereson in trouble will be you, not me.
If you do that to a census employee, and they want to take it seriously they will probably have a good argument that they are not stalking you since what they are doing is a federal job. Furthermore depending on your state its possible they can just swear out a warrant against you for assault with the magistrate, the elements of which often only require a reasonable apprehension that they would be harmed, which given the facts you presented, you could definitely make a case for. There might even be a higher charge for them being a public official in their official capacity. I suspect there would be enough for a DA to prosecute and I suspect they have a good chance of wining.
In other words its a terrible idea. Depending on your state you are essentially inviting a criminal record.
If you are someone who supports the government extending its reach into every nook and cranny of your life and our society, or you are someone who is just to much of a coward to ever draw the line when confronted with this kind of outrageous behavior, then by all means, bend over and let them have their way with you. For many of the rest of us, that is not happening.
Especially when it appears that this "American Community Survey" performed by the Census Bureau is an unconstitutional over-reach by our government that they will not risk enforcement of for risk of having to explain themselves in court.
And your assertion that they claim that they do have the authority to do this - How naive can you possibly be? What do you expect them to say, that they don't have the authority? LOL. Of course not.
Here are a few more links about people's experience with this, for anyone who is interested:
If you honestly believe in this then you can do civil disobedience, but absent some strong conviction it is bad advice since you are basically advocating violating federal law.
If you honestly believe in this then you can do civil disobedience, but absent some strong conviction it is bad advice since you are basically advocating violating federal law.
Well 45 years of no prosecutions is some pretty strong precedent.
And even the Census Bureau says they really have no enforcement staff to do all these prosecutions.
A Supreme Court ruling on your right to privacy vs the FedGov has never been overturned is another bit to add.
And they also say that 98% of folks getting the survey return them all filled in so they aren't too worried.
Well 45 years of no prosecutions is some pretty strong precedent.
And even the Census Bureau says they really have no enforcement staff to do all these prosecutions.
A Supreme Court ruling on your right to privacy vs the FedGov has never been overturned is another bit to add.
And they also say that 98% of folks getting the survey return them all filled in so they aren't too worried.
Even so I wouldn't rely on it because you never know if you might be the one they pick to make an example of if this becomes a serious problem and even assuming the courts are inclined to rule in your favor a legal battle on this would still be a long and expensive process. I can understand the idea of civil disobedience, but absent that it just strikes me that violating federal law over something bothersome is unwise.
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