I’m wrapping up my work with the Census Bureau, which is nice except it means I’m back in Unemployment-ville very soon. But, this was a good experience. It was interesting to see how an American Bureaucracy works up close and personal* and I got that all important “leadership experience”.
But I am still absolutely flabbergasted at the number of people who believe that the Census is un-Constitutional. I doubt that there is a more Constitutional thing in the world. After so many of my enumerators told me people were refusing based on this supposed Un-Constitutional-ness, I finally went and double-checked the Constitution to see what it says.
Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. 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. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse [sic] three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
(Bold added)
Fairly clear to me. Congress conducts a census, they have the ability to decide what goes in the Census. It was a little jarring to be reminded of the 3/5ths standard, but that’s our Constitution, warts and all. The court cases, from the District to the Supreme, all agree- you have to have a census, you can include information besides just a head count. We have never had a Census that was just a simple headcount.
I am baffled by people who believe that the Census is unconstitutional, when the Constitution says it right there. It’s not that long, and heck, it takes 30 seconds to google “Constitution” and “Census” and get the appropriate clause. I would be confused by people who were AGAINST the questions on the Census form, but that at least would be a reasonable thing to be. You could be irritating your Congressman every 10 years, three years before the Census, telling them that there shouldn’t be anything in the Census besides a headcount, and you would be well within your rights. But to say it’s unconstitutional is flat wrong.
But, people being wrong about basic factual things is something you get used to. When we have a population that, according a 2008 poll of 2000, less than half can name the three branches of government, it should be a fairly uncontroversial statement to say we are dealing with an undereducated populace.** The more interesting point I can think of is “Why would people propagate this lie?”
Our local wingnut, Michelle Bachmann, was one of the first people to express that the Census was unconstitutional, and it had something to do with ACORN (It doesn’t- ACORN’s only involvement in the Census is it was one of thousands of groups that put up advertising). Glenn Beck also repeated that all they could do was a count, and also suggested that this was some sort of conspiracy to take money from people (the Census does not report to the IRS) and that the race is because “Minority people are more valuable than white people”.***
Where are they getting this, and why are they saying it? Is it that they’re worried that the Census will show we’re not as white as we used to be? Is it politics- they’re trying to cause the Democratic Obama administration to waste as much money as possible so they can turn around and then say that the Democrats always waste money and the federal government just isn’t that efficient?
My suspicion is the latter, more than the former. While I know plenty of wingnuts that are convinced of the coming “race wars”, I really think that in the case of Bachmann and Beck, they’re simply looking to keep conservatives in power. A minority-majority would be plenty of fodder for them to go around arguing that affirmative action is unnecessary (again, I think they’d be wrong, but that’s a post for another day). But, people always seem to be suckers for the government is too expensive, we should get rid of it. I’m sure someone would come up with the idea of privatizing the Census Bureau (*shudders*) and then we can have some more endless, political arguments on something that, realistically, should be non-partisan.
What does everyone think their motivations are? Why politicize something relatively benign like “enumerate people every 10 years?” We have a few conservative lurkers here. What’s your take on the Census? If you think it’s unconstitutional, why?
*If you’re interested, it works I think on the principle of directed chaos. Everything’s going in their own, random space directed by someone else who is also moving in his or her random space directed by someone else who is moving in his or her own random space- you get the picture. I’m impressed at how well it works, but I’m amused at how often you have to make reality fit the paperwork, not the other way around.
**It should also be a terrifying one, one that should make you feel the need to tell your local, state, and federal government that we have to have civics requirements in schools, and need to fund them a lot better in addition to feeling the urge to pass out copies of the US Constitution and “American Government for Dummies” on the street corner, but that’s a discussion for another day.
***Bill O’Reilly, weirdly enough, is one of the few big-name conservative pundits that told people to fill out the form. He considered it a matter of being “good citizens”, which I agree with, and made me do a double-take.
You’re absolutely right on the law, but I would say that
1) the Obama administration gratuitously put the 2010 Census under direct White House control, instead of letting the Census Bureau run it as has always happened before, without really explaining why.
2) At least in my local area, the census mailings have all stated clearly and unambiguously that answering all the demographic questions will control how much federal money goes to your locality.
Both of which very much drag the Census into the political realm.
1) It isn’t under direct White House control. It’s still under the Commerce Department. We don’t report any of the information to the white house.
2) What? The pre-Census letter says “Dear Resident:
About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly. Your response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need. Without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share. Thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely, Robert M. Groves
Director, U.S. Census Bureau”
That’s it. Yes, it says that filling this out determines funding, but that has nothing to do with race. It doesn’t say “Fill this out as a black person so you can get more money (which isn’t true, any way you slice it)”. I’m confused.
“I’m amused at how often you have to make reality fit the paperwork, not the other way around.”
I take it you haven’t met much paperwork yet?
The one real exception that I can think of is how yearly updates to job descriptions are commonly written by the people who have been doing those jobs for the past year. At least they were the last time I had a regular job (a while ago now).
Older-
I can’t say I have regarding the paperwork question. My previous jobs have mostly been either low-end retail or working for the college. My paperwork was minimal, and actually made sense as to why I did it.
I wonder if Stacy indeed got mailings saying the race questions are important, but not from the Census Bureau