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Census 1, Jerry Day 0
May. 15th, 2010 11:15 amAs a census enumerator, my curiosity was piqued when my attention was directed to this video made by Jerry Day. In it, he makes certain claims about the Census bureau and its employees. I left a comment at his video site, but since it is awaiting moderation, I have sincere doubts that dissenting voices will be allowed to be heard.
My voice will be heard here. Day is wrong, pure and simple, and he's making false statements, misleading people, and causing damage at a national, local and personal level.
Over at FactCheck.org, the short answer is: "A widely circulated anti-Census commentary makes several false claims. The law requires truthful answers and states that they will be kept confidential. Courts have upheld its constitutionality." The full article is here
Among other things, Day claims "They will be asking you about your disabilities, how much income you receive, where you get your income from, your housing costs, how many cars you own, how much you pay for insurance, if you receive food stamps, how much you pay for utilities. They’ll be asking you things that you would not tell a stranger."
Jackson countered,
"...the 2010 Census form asks for none of that. It asks only how many people live at the address, whether the home is rented or owned and whether it has a mortgage, and the telephone number of the residence. It asks seven additional questions about each individual at the address, including name, sex, age and date of birth, race and whether the person is of Hispanic origin or not, and whether that person sometimes lives or stays at another address."
I can certify what Brooks Jackson has written, as the enumeration form I use is before me as I type this. I express gratitude for the clarifications, backed up by verifiable sources.
Telling people that they don't have to answer the questions is like telling them they don't have to pay income taxes. Both statements are patently wrong, and show how out of touch with reality and irresponsible this man is. Although refusing to answer the census questions is indeed punishable by law, I have never heard of penalties being applied, ever. if someone refuses to answer any or all of the questions we are following up on, we thank them for their time and move on. The census enumerators out there are not pesky or pushy, but are trained to be courteous and sensitive in gathering the information that the law of the land authorizes them to collect.
Day's exhortation to people who view his disingenuous video to refuse, challenge and otherwise harass enumerators is like asking people to make a deliberate effort to be rude to cashiers at Wal-Mart because you happen to disagree with the company's global marketing strategy. If Day has complaints about the Census, let him complain to Congress who wrote the laws, or to the courts which have upheld them.
Title 18, Section 3571 allows for fines of up to $5,000 for refusing to answer census questions. I'd like to see this fine applied to Day on behalf of each individual he has influenced to refuse enumeration. If only it could be so.
[Edit]: Here is another related article at PolitiFact.com.
My voice will be heard here. Day is wrong, pure and simple, and he's making false statements, misleading people, and causing damage at a national, local and personal level.
Over at FactCheck.org, the short answer is: "A widely circulated anti-Census commentary makes several false claims. The law requires truthful answers and states that they will be kept confidential. Courts have upheld its constitutionality." The full article is here
Among other things, Day claims "They will be asking you about your disabilities, how much income you receive, where you get your income from, your housing costs, how many cars you own, how much you pay for insurance, if you receive food stamps, how much you pay for utilities. They’ll be asking you things that you would not tell a stranger."
Jackson countered,
"...the 2010 Census form asks for none of that. It asks only how many people live at the address, whether the home is rented or owned and whether it has a mortgage, and the telephone number of the residence. It asks seven additional questions about each individual at the address, including name, sex, age and date of birth, race and whether the person is of Hispanic origin or not, and whether that person sometimes lives or stays at another address."
I can certify what Brooks Jackson has written, as the enumeration form I use is before me as I type this. I express gratitude for the clarifications, backed up by verifiable sources.
Telling people that they don't have to answer the questions is like telling them they don't have to pay income taxes. Both statements are patently wrong, and show how out of touch with reality and irresponsible this man is. Although refusing to answer the census questions is indeed punishable by law, I have never heard of penalties being applied, ever. if someone refuses to answer any or all of the questions we are following up on, we thank them for their time and move on. The census enumerators out there are not pesky or pushy, but are trained to be courteous and sensitive in gathering the information that the law of the land authorizes them to collect.
Day's exhortation to people who view his disingenuous video to refuse, challenge and otherwise harass enumerators is like asking people to make a deliberate effort to be rude to cashiers at Wal-Mart because you happen to disagree with the company's global marketing strategy. If Day has complaints about the Census, let him complain to Congress who wrote the laws, or to the courts which have upheld them.
Title 18, Section 3571 allows for fines of up to $5,000 for refusing to answer census questions. I'd like to see this fine applied to Day on behalf of each individual he has influenced to refuse enumeration. If only it could be so.
[Edit]: Here is another related article at PolitiFact.com.
