Community Chat

[Rockycoast]

I received the letter from the Cencus a few years ago. It is legit. They do not go by the name at an address. It is the address itself. So who ever lives at the randomly chosen address is the one that answers the questions. It is no big deal. We became quite friendly over the years with the Cencus man John. It was always John, because our area was his territory. The first 2 times he conducted the interview at our home. The next 3 times it was conducted by phone. It takes no more then 15 minutes to answer the questions. I had no problem with it. As I said, It is no big deal.

[dex]

@itiswhatitis Funny that it was someone else on the label and yet they expected you to open it....any other time that would be mail fraud.

[sandraskates]

@itiswhatitis-  It sounds like you got the American Community Survey?

If so, I suggest doing some lookups about it.

[DayzeeDeez]

Was this the American Community survey from the US Census?  I received one of those years ago and refused to do it.   The questions were absurd to me -- do I bathe or shower, what time do I leave for work, what is my travel route, what time do I get home, and on and on.  I had to dodge and ignore daily phone calls for about 3 months.  If you google this survey, you will find horror stories from people that have had unpleasant encounters with census agents. 

[wildcat fan]

LOL this reminds me of the 2010 Census.  There was a section that asked how many hours per week do I work and I answered 60-65.  Not long after I sent it in, I started getting voicemail messages and when I returned the call the guy at the Census said they red flagged my answer.  He wanted to know how many jobs I had because according to my tax records and Census response I only had one job.  I replied that I did in fact have just one job outside my home.  I was a teacher who worked at least 10 hours per day Monday-Friday at school then I worked more to prepare for my job on evenings/weekends/non-paid "vacations." I worked three summer school sessions, and I attended several professional development conferences or administrative meetings during the summer, spring break, and Labor Day.  I also use time outside of school to work on lesson plans, activities, and assessments.   Overall, I estimated 60-65 hours per week was how much I put into my job.  He said I can't claim that many hours on the Census because technically teaching is a 38-40 hour/week job.  I replied that technically it is much more than that!  He got argumentative and accused me of trying to falsify this government document, but I said I was being honest, and if the government wants to get all personal by asking all those other questions, they may as well get an accurate picture of how much a teacher really works.  Again, he said I could only claim 38-40 hours and he was changing my answer.  

I found the last Census to be a little intrusive.  My call from the bureau made me realize how serious they take it.  Never would have guessed they used such a fine tooth comb to review responses, but it still sort of irks me that I answered the question honestly but it wasn't the answer they wanted and the rep said had the authorization to change my response.

[ROMARY]

'Seems to me' that they already know just about everything.   Just push a few buttons, etc., and there's the info.  There's already a paper trail re: who lives where via credit cards, school and college records, income taxes, SS benefits, Medicare, etc.  Everything is there; not much need to have a census now-a-days.  Years ago, yes.  Today, no.  Jmo, of course.

[ROMARY]

Wildcat Fan:  'That goes to show you'...........   enough said.

[sunshine45]

The American Community Survey helps local officials, community leaders and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities.  It is the premier source for detailed information about the American people and workforce.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/

You are legally obligated to answer all the questions, as accurately as you can.

The relevant laws are Title 18 U.S.C Section 3571 and Section 3559, which amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221.

Your answers are important. As part of a sample, you represent many other people. Find out how each question helps your community, your state, and the federal government in questions on the form and why we ask.

The American Community Survey (ACS) information is mailed to addresses, rather than to individuals, throughout the country. Not including individual names on the address label is one way that we protect the confidentiality of the households that are chosen to participate in our censuses and surveys.

[sassenach1]

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@wildcat fan wrote:

LOL this reminds me of the 2010 Census.  There was a section that asked how many hours per week do I work and I answered 60-65.  Not long after I sent it in, I started getting voicemail messages and when I returned the call the guy at the Census said they red flagged my answer.  He wanted to know how many jobs I had because according to my tax records and Census response I only had one job.  I replied that I did in fact have just one job outside my home.  I was a teacher who worked at least 10 hours per day Monday-Friday at school then I worked more to prepare for my job on evenings/weekends/non-paid "vacations." I worked three summer school sessions, and I attended several professional development conferences or administrative meetings during the summer, spring break, and Labor Day.  I also use time outside of school to work on lesson plans, activities, and assessments.   Overall, I estimated 60-65 hours per week was how much I put into my job.  He said I can't claim that many hours on the Census because technically teaching is a 38-40 hour/week job.  I replied that technically it is much more than that!  He got argumentative and accused me of trying to falsify this government document, but I said I was being honest, and if the government wants to get all personal by asking all those other questions, they may as well get an accurate picture of how much a teacher really works.  Again, he said I could only claim 38-40 hours and he was changing my answer.  

I found the last Census to be a little intrusive.  My call from the bureau made me realize how serious they take it.  Never would have guessed they used such a fine tooth comb to review responses, but it still sort of irks me that I answered the question honestly but it wasn't the answer they wanted and the rep said had the authorization to change my response.

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This is actually frightening.

[VaBelle35]

The American Community Survey is quite interesting but it helps business as well.

The aggragate data is released to the public.