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2010 Census

This applies to US readers only, but is anyone else really disappointed by the lack of depth in the 2010 census.

I'm young enough that I've never had to fill one out before but there are only 10 questions, and some are redundant! For instance, question one is 'How many people live in the house?'. Question two is 'Is there anyone living in your house you did not count in question one'?

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

Then later there is a question asking if you are of Latin decent and then the very next question it asks what your race is. Your phone number is even one of the 10 questions.

There are no questions on religious affiliation, income level, education level, healthcare status, marriage, composition of household members (children, grandparents, extended family, friends), time of stay etc that seem pertinent to public policy.

I'm sure there are some tea baggers that think the government would just use that information against them, but come on, there is so little real information gathered its hardly worth doing.

Tags: 2010, US, census

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Borman on March 9, 2010 at 6:54pm

The long form of the census has 53 questions on it and does ask about the stuff you mentioned isn't on the short form. Some of the questions on the long version do ask about education level, financial info, etc (but not religion). Just for the record I'm not a right wing-er or tea-bagger, I'm fairly Libertarian-ish.

I'm opposed to asking anything more than "how many people live here, and of those people how may are eligible to vote or will be in the next 10 years?". I'm not opposed to it for any conspiracy theory reasons at all (and I really get annoyed with the folks that are). But, I do support staying within the confines on the Constitution which only gives the Census Bureau the power to ask that one question specifically for the purpose of determining how many reps an area should have, not for distributing funds. The info can also be used by private companies and would qualify as a form of corporate welfare.

I'm also bothered by the fact that you can't take the 5th A. Hypothetical situation: You being charged with faking a college degree and have caused some sort of damage as a result. The Census Bureau requires that you answer question 9 on the long form if you get it (see below). Answering could incriminate yourself, but not answering is a crime.

Here's a few of the questions on the long form: http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d-61b.pdf

Question 2 asks how you are related to the other people in your house.

Question 7 asks for your marital status. What would gay couples married in Iowa say? Their state considers them married, but not the feds.

Question 8 demands that you pigeonhole yourself into one of 15 racial categories. If you do not identify with one particular race (what would Tiger Woods identify with?) you are apparently forced to lie by picking one of the 15 choices. Lying on the census is a crime, not answering is also a crime, and "other" is not an option. What are you supposed to do if you honestly don't identify with one of the choices?

Question 9 asks about your education level.
Question 17a asks if anyone in your home has any trouble "learning, remembering or concentrating."
Question 17b asks whether you have trouble "dressing, bathing or getting around in the home."
Question 24b asks how long it takes you to get to work, and Question 23a wants to know how you get there.
Question 31 asks how much money you make.
Question 39 asks about your plumbing.
Question 40 asks about your kitchen.
Question 43 asks how many and what kind of vehicles you own.
Question 45 asks what your electric bill costs are.
Questions 47-53 ask about how much you pay in rent, how much your house cost, if you have a 2nd mortgage, how much your real estate taxes are, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Objection on March 9, 2010 at 8:41pm

There's a 'some other race' option.

There's no religious affiliation question? I wanted to see how many non-theists there were in America :'(
I didn't even get to participate in that religious affiliation study done in 2007 or whatever.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Borman on March 9, 2010 at 8:46pm

You are correct. My bad.

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Permalink Reply by faith the atheist on March 9, 2010 at 9:30pm

i'm glad it doesn't ask about religion because of people like me under age of answering.My mother would put Christian probably lots of other peoples parents too.So we won't get a true nember.

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Permalink Reply by John C on March 9, 2010 at 8:17pm

I am not. The constitution requires our government to COUNT us every 10 years. It says nothing about race, education, or favorite flavor of ice cream.

Vanilla, for the record.

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Permalink Reply by Lori Gilliland on March 9, 2010 at 9:17pm

For the first time since 1940, the 2010 Census will be a short-form-only census
This is because the decennial long form has been replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is a nationwide, continuous survey designed to provide reliable and timely demographic, housing, social, and economic data every year. The ACS will replace the long form in 2010 and thereafter by collecting long-form-type information throughout the decade rather than only once every 10 years.

As for the information collected, a co-worker of mine, who is helping promote the Census in Montana, says the information is not open to the public for 60-75 years or something like that. It's important that people realize no-one outside of the census bureau will have access to it.

The 2nd question of the 10 is asked to count people in the household not counted in the 1st question such as transients or homeless people who may be staying in the home temporarily.

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Permalink Reply by Starscream on March 9, 2010 at 9:21pm

Thanks Lori, that makes a bunch more sense now.
I did not know about the ACS surveys, but I had a feeling in today's day and age, there may have been other sources for the information I thought was lacking from the official census.