Spokane7
48°
April 7, 2010 in Opinion
Editorial: Filling out census today will keep worker away
If you’re feeling hapless about federal government spending, here is one thing you can do about it: Fill out your census form and drop it in the mail. If you do so by the end of April, the government won’t have to dispatch as many workers to knock on doors to gather the information.
As of Tuesday, Kootenai County (65 percent) and Spokane County (63 percent) are outpacing the national return rate of 60 percent. It costs the government 42 cents in postage for every reply, and if everyone responded that way, the U.S. Census Bureau says the government would save $1.5 billion. Washington state’s response rate in 2000 was 72 percent.
But that isn’t the only good reason to participate.
Congressional apportionment is based on the count, and so is a lot of federal spending. A total of 215 federal assistance programs are based on census figures, with Medicaid being a major one, according to the Brookings Institution. In 2009, those programs delivered $494 million to Spokane County, or $1,068 per person. In addition, 75 percent of federal grants are guided by the census count.
Undercounted regions are shooting themselves in the foot because money they aren’t collecting is going elsewhere.
Falling prey to myths and fears surrounding the every-decade count helps nobody, but that hasn’t stopped some politicians from spreading unfounded claims. Some respondents are merely listing how many people live at a residence and leaving the rest blank. All this will do is trigger a lot more government spending. The government estimates it will need to hire about 630,000 people to conduct follow-up surveys.
The gender question on the form bothers some people, but it has been asked since 1790, the first year the census was taken. The questions about race and ethnicity help the government gauge the effectiveness of voting and civil rights laws. And, no, the census cannot be used, as it was in the 1940s, to round up and intern citizens. Congress has passed laws to prevent that.
However, if you have received official-looking forms that ask for personal data such as bank account information and Social Security numbers, be suspicious. Some unscrupulous people have tried to piggyback on this effort to try to steal private information.
If you haven’t received a census form in the mail by April 12, you can pick one up at many locations, including the STA Plaza in downtown Spokane, South Hill Library, DeLeon Foods (102 E. Francis Ave.), Spokane Valley Library, Spokane Valley Partners (10814 E. Broadway Ave.), Post Falls Senior Center and Coeur d’Alene St. Vincent DePaul.
You can do a lot of good by taking 10 minutes to answer 10 simple questions every 10 years.
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Gary D Rhodes on April 07 at 7:46 a.m.
“The questions about race and ethnicity help the government gauge the effectiveness of voting and civil rights laws.”
How?
misjustice on April 07 at 8:31 a.m.
Gary, some data gathered by the US Census is used to draw the lines through neighborhoods that make up Congressional voting districts. Districts must be nearly equal in population and must not dilute representation of racial minorities (Voting Rights Act of 1965). So Census information regarding race/ethnicity is very important.
Gary D Rhodes on April 07 at 10:03 a.m.
I guess ‘white’ will be a new minority to receive ‘special treatment’ in a few years?
Gerrymandering is a very bad practice, and should be made illegal.
A computer should draw the lines.
misjustice on April 07 at 11:02 a.m.
Yes, Gary, white will be the “new” minority in a few short decades. And by then you’ll probably better understand the importance of drawing district lines to avoid diluting the representation of racial minorites.
Another_Perspective on April 09 at 1:51 a.m.
None of the governments business.
misjustice on April 09 at 9:03 a.m.
Yeah, all you conspiracy theorists go ahead and don’t fill out your Census forms; it will mean that you and your political leanings do not get counted (accurately), and that those sending in complete forms will. It’s kinda like shooting your own selves in the foot when Congressional Districts get drawn! By not participating you will be diluting your own political power!Thank you! LMAO! ; )
ChefGus/ John Olsen on April 11 at 7:28 a.m.
“White” is already the “minority” in this wide wide world.. one gets a skewed picture of what the real world is by living in Spokane Like” environs… take a walk downtown through the bus plaza or ride the Sprague or Divison Street STA busses and you will be seing ” a foretaste” of the world that is coming here as well. Not filling out the Census accurately is a mistake. John