Have you taken the census? If not, why not? What even is the census? The first census was taken in 1790, and originally the purpose was to allocate direct taxes and seats in the U. S. House of Representatives proportionately to each state, so it was decided the way to do that fairly was to count the entire population. But the information collected for the census has become much more than that. It’s a once-a-decade chance to track the shifting demographics of America. How many people live in big cities? How many children live in each household? What is the nation’s racial and ethnic breakdown? Federal and state governments rely on census data to budget for social welfare programs. Cities and private industry use demographic figures to plan hospital expansions and housing developments and assess the need for new schools or new strip malls.
I have polled a few of my friends and it surprised me to discover just how many are not planning to complete it. This year it is easier than ever to do as for the first time the questions can be answered online ( www.2020census.gov)
So I asked them the same question; Why not? The answers ranged from ‘ I don’t want to be tracked’ to ‘what’s the point?’ and many declaring that it was outdated or that they just didn’t care. I do think it is important on many levels.
I recently filled in mine and it took less than 10 minutes and the questions were far less invasive than the ones you answer to open an Amazon account or complete a supermarket survey to get extra loyalty points. I did it willingly because I think it is a simple and effective way to record how towns and cities are evolving. For those of you interested in genealogy, I am sure the data collected has been an extremely useful and insightful tool.
It isn’t surprising to learn that the main reason people are averse to it is because of distrust of the government and concerns on how data will be used. Many are afraid that the information provided will be used against them. It didn’t help that the President wanted to include a citizenship question, but that was immediately challenged and the Supreme Court ruled against it. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share answers with other government agencies, including welfare agencies, immigration, the police or FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, or the military. The law requires each batch of forms to remain private for 72 years. This is to protect identifiable information from going public.
That is all well and good but it doesn’t allay fears when the census information was actually used secretly in 1940 in what is called ‘one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in U.S. history’, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. For decades, officials denied that they had played any role in providing information. But documents discovered in 2000 revealed that details were disclosed on those who were of Japanese ancestry. In their defense, the Census bureau cited The Second War Powers Act and claimed it was legally required to assist the war effort. Whilst it is comforting to know that legislation has since been introduced to prevent this from happening again, as well as the most recent overhaul of data protection laws, it doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t. We are all aware that government officials often think they are above the law or that it doesn’t apply to them. But please don’t let this prevent you from participating. There are a lot of false and misleading stories circulating, so many that the Census Bureau is asking people to send in these rumors, and have dedicated websites devoted to fact-checking.
As I said before, the questions are very basic. There are 9 in total and include the name, sex, age, date of birth and race of each person in the home. Whether the home is owned or, rented. One of the questions asked is how many people were living in your home on April 1st 2020. Many lower income people are living in overcrowded apartments, perhaps without the landlords permission so don’t want to draw attention to this fact. My understanding is that this information is collected to help our communities. When I volunteered to help deliver gifts with the charity Adopt a Letter I was saddened to see how many multigenerational families of 10 or more lived together in 2 to 3 bedroom apartments. It made me feel very uncomfortable that I was able to afford to live alone and had even thought my flat was a little poky. So in theory, if families like these are included on the census then California should receive more federal funding to help create affordable housing. For every Californian missed by the census, L.A. County officials say, the state loses about $2,000 a year. We received $115 billion through federal spending programs in 2016, according to George Washington University — money that was guided by 2010 census data.
Apparently, more than $650 million in funding was lost in LA County due to an undercount in the 2010 census. As one of the largest and most diverse counties in the nation, LA has much to gain, and much to lose in the upcoming 2020 census. Many emergency services are based on maps developed for the last census. Census information helps us when disasters hit, it tells rescuers how many people will need their help.
This is particularly pertinent to us right now as our firefighters are currently battling hundreds of wildfires with over a million acres already burned. Some are working 24 hours a day! Federal aid has been granted to supplement recovery efforts in areas affected; it is terrifying to think of the tens of thousands of people who have been issued evacuation orders and the over 8 million that are under red flag warnings. This is becoming a regular occurrence and we need all the help we can get. To me, it is apparent that now is not the time to question the census, but to complete the questions. You can raise your concerns and start petitions to implement new systems but not this year.
If you want to donate to help people affected by the wildfires you can visit
www.calfund.org or www.cafirefoundation.org
If you have any questions or comments on this or anything else you can drop us a line at info@britsin.la
Cheers
Eileen
