Anti-Census Sentiment

A 1955 cartoon depicts bare-chested, bearded country boys, wearing overalls and pointing their guns at a diminutive, bespectacled census taker. "It's OK Boys. You can tell him everything … He's the Census Man!" one of them tells the others, in what is part of a decennial phenomenon that is beginning again—the massive advertising and manpower effort to persuade Americans to take part in the U.S. Census. The old ad assures readers that census takers have no connections to the "revenooers," a reference to the Prohibition-era feds who cracked down on illegal production of alcohol. Back then, as now, there is hesitation and distrust of the census among the public.

But this time around, that fear may be reaching new levels. The Census Bureau just announced its largest advertising campaign ever—some $300 million—to urge Americans to do their constitutional duty and take part in the nationwide headcount. But the bureau has reason to worry: the U.S. is facing unprecedented homelessness and foreclosure rates; illegal immigrants are pledging a boycott of the census; conservatives claim it's rigged in favor of the Obama administration and perhaps even unconstitutional; and, for the first time in recent memory, census season has been kicked off not with a mailing, but a possible murder.

Census taker Bill Sparkman's naked body was found earlier this month near a rural Kentucky cemetery, his neck bound with a rope and the word "Fed" scrawled across his chest. The area where his body was discovered is remote, and is known as a hot spot for marijuana production. Friends of Sparkman had warned to him to be careful when heading out there for his job, "but he'd just shrug his shoulders," says friend Gilbert Acciardo. Having "Fed" written on his body has prompted the obvious question: was Sparkman killed in some frenzy of antigovernment rage? Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) have warned of a dramatic spike in antigovernment militia activity.


While the SPLC sees little evidence of hate groups targeting the Census Bureau, there isn't much sympathy for Sparkman on those groups' Web sites. "I've seen census folks poking around on private property like they own everything in sight," posts one visitor to Stormfront.org, a white supremacist site. "Eastern Kentucky is probably the last place you'd want to do that." Another worries that the killing might free up the government to manipulate the census: "This could be a bad thing, they may just fore-go the count and make up the numbers they need to complete the total subversion of the Constitution." The nastiest comment posted? A Ku Klux Klan member aims for laughs for the one-liner "Hopefully someone remembered to subtract the census by one."

Those comments don't reflect the views of the wider public, which doesn't pay much attention to the census at all. But while for many Americans the census can seem like a boring triviality, for some political activists, it is a lightning rod for political protest. That's because everyone forgets about the census until we get hit with it each decade, "when it suddenly becomes a way of framing the political issues of the time," says census historian and University of Wisconsin professor Margo J. Anderson. (See census art and cartoons through the centuries compiled by Anderson here.) The 2010 census issues include immigration reform, same-sex marriage, and government invasion of privacy. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves admitted as much to Congress last week when he stressed that the poor economy and tensions over immigration could derail participation in the head count, which is primarily used to apportion House seats and distribute some $400 billion in federal aid. Groves pointed to foreclosures, families doubling up in single dwellings, increased homelessness, competing and incorrect news from the blogosphere, and the rise of Internet scamming as obstacles. He also "desperately" asked for help from Congress in keeping political bickering away from the census, arguing that "once destroyed, public trust cannot be easily or quickly restored."

Groves may be too late. A number of Latino groups, which traditionally urge illegal immigrants to take part in the census to boost social spending in their areas, are now rallying for a national boycott until comprehensive immigration reform is addressed. "It is a myth and a lie to tell us we need to be counted in order to get money for our communities," says the Rev. Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which represents 20,000 churches in 34 states. "Our barrios have the worst schools, the worst roads, and the worst medical care and we won't be used as a cash cow for politicians when we get no benefits." The coalition claims it can already guarantee 2.5 million absentees, "and that's a conservative number." The boycott is dividing Hispanic advocacy groups and already prompting concern from state officials worried about losing much-needed funding. Rivera isn't fazed. He expects 5 million absentee guarantees by year's end. He wants states to lose representatives in Congress. "If politicians don't see the need for immigration reform, then we don't need those politicians anyway."

Then there is the conservative blogosphere, which has been questioning the census since Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed that she would not complete her census form. While on Glenn Beck's show, she pointed out that, among other things, census information was used against Japanese-Americans during World War II to round them up in internment camps. "Americans were told they wouldn't have their information used against them. They did." Beck, on the other hand, worried that if he didn't fill out his form, the government might use that "as a loophole" to say he could no longer have a permit for a gun. His concerns seem unfounded, as the census has never been used for verifying gun licenses and Bachmann apparently isn't worried that dodging the census will endanger her Second Amendment rights either. According to her spokeswoman, Bachmann is still only going to answer one question on the form: the number of people living in her household, which she argues is the only response required by the Constitution. In fact, the Constitution says nothing about whether an individual must answer the census, only that Congress must make a count in the manner it sees fit. Under federal law, according to the Census Bureau, she needs to fill out the entire form or risk a $5,000 fine. But the fine is really only a last resort and has rarely been levied. There is at least one documented case. In 1960 future National Reviewstaffer William Rickenbacker refused to complete his form and was convicted after a one-day trial. He was given a suspended 60-day sentence, fined $100, and placed on probation for one day.

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http://www.newsweek.com/id/216590

"The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."


In my opinion many questions on the "long form" are very personal and private. I do not see that a person not willing to disclose such private information can legally be made to. It is my opinion that forcing someone to answer any such questions would violate that person's right to privacy should they choose to exercise it.

Now I understand much of the data is used for a number of programs to help see that things go where they should. I understand the logic behind the questions but I believe answering the questions on the long form should be voluntary.

Oh, K&R

each census I get the long form, and there is nothing on there I wouldn't want anyone to know, or that can't be gathered from another data base. It's wrong to use the census as a political platform, it's the most apolitical federal dept. Yes, the data is used politically (gerrymandering), but the actual act is not. Jeez, is *everything* a faux outrage?

I think that not answering the census will eventually bite the Hispanic's in the future. It's self-perpetuating - justifiably complain about no money for schools, and there will be no money for schools.

Something tells me that in 2012, Kentucky is likely to have only one Representative and get just $7.99 from the Federal Government at a time when it has 15 percent unemployment.

The states had better prevail on people just how important the Census can be for them, and how much they can't afford an undercount these days. They are not just committing murder, but they are guaranteeing liberal success. If there weren't a body-count, I would be cheering.