Chinese officials knew nothing about the virus before the pandemic emerged. According to law you must answer all Census questions or face criminal charges and/or fines up to $100. An official website of the United States government . i am not in their rat race, and i do not answer to their color coded political designations. Our government is abusive, tyrannical and murderous. Instead of hiring mindless sheep to bother busy, honest, hard working people, the government can hire people to scour the internet for this "readily available information". My hubby has served this country for over 30 years, we are about to retire and what a lovely retirement gift we are receiving (NOT)!.Harassment, compliments of the government, just lovely (NOT). I told her to get a US Marshal with a warrant. All this and I live on an Army installation! The letter accompanying the census form indicates it's used to decide how many representatives each state has in congress, and how much money my 'neighborhood' receives from the government. Methodology Statement: 2015-2019 American Community Survey MARCH 2021 6 with populations greater than 65,000) requires a 12-month sample. i love my country and its freedom and its up to us to keep the communism out!! The ACS is better than a surveillance on the American family. Not to mention that this information in the wrong hands can cause identity theft. She said they don't do that. If there was no response by the time we finished our list, we were to call again. Employees will be invited to complete a feedback form at the end of a strategic planning session . Since direct taxes must be apportioned based on population, an enumeration is needed to determine the percentage of tax for each state. Perhaps the people who did not answer the questions do not want to end up like the Japanese Americans did during World War II when the census was used to track them down, and it took 50 years to find out about it! I never have, EVER owned an apartment or resort. I received the ACS invasion of privacy letter on my door yesterday. I just moved to a suburb outside of Detroit after years of living there, and its strange but I also got 'grilled' the last time it came around. She said she would mark me down as 'refused' If someone actually shows up I am going to take control of the interview and video my demand that they leave and not come back, and their response. Thank God I'm not the only one questioning the Constitutionality of this blatant invasion of personal privacy. Please, that's where this money is going in there pockets. Also available, The Rutherford Institute has developed a form letter that you may use in standing up against the governments attempt to force you to disclose personal information. Seriously, do I really have to answer and return the american community survey? A month later I received the ACS questionnaire, and coincidentally(? What we have here is a violation of HIPAA. I was just contacted by a representative for the Census Bureau at my home and asked to answer his questions. After four or five visits with three notices taped to the door over two weeks, they seem to have given up. The daily number of cyber attacks on our federal government and access by illicit state and non-state actors is eye watering. Start here to respond: Responder en espaol First five digits of User ID:Last five digits of User ID Can't find the User ID? Im not and if their track record is any benchmark, nobody should. and inviting me to contact them if I had any concerns. I guarantee it will be a short and polite conversation and the last time they ever bother you! Now I wish I hadn't answered her on the phone. The calls started today. He used to work for the gas company and has been in my house to light my pilot lights. [21] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/WorkStatus.pdf. The Census Bureau boasts a 97% response rate to the survey via these methods,[34] but critics argue this constitutes harassment. I threw it away. This is how those rich people are rich, those "powerful" people are "powerful", and those happy people are happy. I work for a defense contractor, and when I applied for a security clearance, there were way fewer questions, and much less invasive than were on the ACS long form. Hello, Legally, yes, you are required to answer the census survey. We will not be participating. I assumed I did it wrong, so I filled out the second one and sent that in. When they ask for race, that's what gets me. I'm contacting my congressman on this ACS issue today. "The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about our nation and its people. Correction, now it's been a total of seven times. My son answered the door, the guy announced who he was with. Can I file a harassment claim somewhere? After the first couple of letters I received I started getting harassing phone calls from them. We filled in very basic info and did put in the drive times. I'm also going to contact her opponent and see if we can get some action on it for the upcoming debates. The census man came to my house eight times, two of which he sat in my driveway for a total of 50 minutes. The small, everyday, humdrum, quietly approved bills they do each day are where the danger lies and more attention should be paid to those. I am not giving my personal information out to anyone authorized by this government. Then I received the long form, ignored it and received another long form which I also ignored. Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). No one from the Census has ever called you every hour of the day or at 9 p.m. If at some point they insist you are declining, plead the Fifth Amendment. I am young and strong and will not put up with this sort of thing. The provision for the Census is found in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. Do not give them your info! all the government tries to say if they want you to do something is say "its the law" thinking people will run and do what they say. Best policy is to avoid answering the door to strangers but it's difficult to do if you are outside a lot. Housing 19b. Despite this request, my wife has subsequently been visited by an unannounced and uninvited representative of your Bureau, and I was later telephoned by him. But I guess they probably figured that out, so decided to send it to only 2.6 percent of the population at a time. I will post again if there is further activity. I was hot and told her I have her number and I will call when I'm ready. In the case of direct taxes (a direct tax is a tax on property based on ownership), this provision requires Congress to apportion the tax among the individual States based on population. its no joke. Now I have people pestering my doorman for my information, pretending to be food deliverymen claiming that I ordered food - just so they can come up to my apartment --wow. Your response is required by law. Fix this problem, fix that, insure this, promise that, but do it without any info, just throw a dart and hope for the best, then when it fails we'll have someone to blame it on, but it won't be our fault! When I answered the door she said who she was and had a survey for me. He asked if I was refusing to answer the survey. As an employee of The U.S. Census Bureau,I too share privacy concerns,but I must say there's a tremendous amount of misinformation and paranoia here. I am glad I am not the only one who tossed the thing in the garbage. But they oppose the highly detailed and personal information demanded in the American Community Survey and have refused to answer it. Years ago someone told me that the information can be used in a book (that may or may not be in your library) that is published showing where you work, how long you lived at your residence, etc. I even downloaded a sound bite that said this number has been disconnected and is no longer in service. Does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as doctor's visits or shopping? They have been to my house, my place of business, also calling my place of business and if told I am busy they inform me they will call again in one hour. When neighbors gave them basic information, apparently the census taker then discussed the fact that they'd looked into tax records for "the residents of our home". You get the picture. Yeah right! There also is a 16-page guide that contains instructions on answering the questions. What you guys who love to quote the constitution fail to take into account are all of the amendments the government has quietly put in since it was first written. Without the enjoyment of this right, all others would lose half their value. [The bracketed words added for clarification], Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brimson, 154 U.S. 447, 479 (May 26, 1894). We have been approached numerous times on our property, been left threatening letters and messages on our answering machine, and there seems to be no end to it. Your name, address and phone number (front cover of the ACS), 2. An official website of the United States government. I think someone should have a web cam ready when they come to the door. I'm planning on returning it blank, with a letter stating the reason for not complying is the OMB# expiration. This also happened the last time. With identity theft on the rise, many are concerned. Haven't heard from the ACS people, "government man", or my dorm supervisor since then. Hurrah for Senator Michelle Bachmann (MN) who has said, I understand, that she will not fill out this piece of trash. I thought Hitler was stopped. Why the hell should I tell the government all this business about me? But I will not tell you when I leave for work and about the medical condition of my relatives. the simple census form I got had another insert in which they claim that "answers are confidential" and "answers you give cannot be obtained by law enforcement or tax collection agencies" and "your answers cannot be used in court" or obtained through a FOIA request. Thetwo statutes at most give the Defendants the authority to conduct a post-census statistical adjustment to ensure the accuracy of the decennial Census, the suit argues. Any discrepancies, intentional or not, could result in an IRS audit of your returns. this implies you have obligations to help the government count but not to answer every intrusive question they might ask. The census cannot ask or get your social security number in any way and you can supply any name you want. Hence, you have answered the only question required by the constitution and you might have even increased the possibility for more representatives! to be human so be sure to count them in as well! How many times has this person been married? He said he'd pass that along. No way was I going to submit that kind of info. The census is satanic. It's aimed at collecting data that influence how. But, (knock on wood again) no visits ever occurred (yet that is). Oh, the reason he came back? But seriously, It's not about conspiracy theories. If anyone would love to start a case action in this matter feel free to get a hold of me. The 24-page survey, which can be found on the Bureau's website, is sent out to about 2.5% of the American population to collect statistical information for city planning. Fine. Have no fear. The census collectors or enumerators can ask for some sensitive and detailed information, such as salary or income. As soon as they identified themselves as being with the Census Bureau, I quickly informed them that I sent it in. Suggestions include "With whom did you last have a sexual encounter and when and where did this take place? Proud to be American but wondering where we will be as a nation in ten years? They have no authority to uphold the ACS laws and they WON'T take action b/c they KNOW if this survey got out in the media it would be eliminated by public outcry. American Community Survey questionnaire. I propose: 1) Grabbing your video recorder and recording the entire exchange. Yes we find the government annoying, but we could turn things around to our advantage and make things fun. [36] This same principle could apply to questions posed by ACS agents. I replied you already have our ages and that we are members of the human race. As one responder put it, if you only want to know the number of people, then what does race have to do with it? I filled out my form, sent it in and a few weeks later another one came. Thank you, fellow Americans! Actual enumeration is required. The funny part is the local grocery store has this job post up. Just sit there and think a minute on what we have in this country and you should feel very ashamed for getting so upset about such petty things. The calls stopped and no one ever visited. Questions and Answers about the ACS in , , Franais, Kreyl ayisyen, , Polski, Portugus, , Espaol, Vit Ng. That's why every selfish person here complains that the government doesn't use resources in the right place; the government waits too long to address problems; the government wastes money. I have no idea about the ACS (or any of their personal questions). What Percent of the US Population do Teachers Comprise? Nobody has ever been fined for refusing to cooperate with any Census request, even the 10 year short form. I made the mistake of putting my phone number on the form. A mortgage deduction should indicate I own a house; a 1099 with either unemployment compensation or reported income would indicate whether I am unemployed or self-employed. Don't believe that the government does not already know exactly where that money is needed. And, if the above comments stated that he can find all the info on the internet, then by all means find it, and leave me alone. Comparing the American Community Survey and the Population Estimates Program (February 17, 2021) Coordinator: Welcome and thank you for standing by. My family has found past census information to be very valuable in genealogical research. I have not opened or returned them. I have had them endlessly harass me on the phone after I filled the form out two times and talked to someone they sent to my door. The state police will show up and *escort* them off your property. Please download the PDF to view it: Download PDF. I guess I now have a 20 percent chance of getting a Census visitor next. I have the kind of front door that has a small window near the top and if people stand on their toes they can peek into my living room. The issuance of summary judgmenta judgment entered by the court in favor of one party over anothermarks the end of the road for the proposed class action lawsuit detailed here. Access to COVID-19 vaccines was not an issue, given that 93% of . We didn't receive phone calls first, we had two visits at 7 p.m. from this lady with her little laptop. Shame on you! He told the guy to just make something up. There's comfort in knowing I'm not alone! Due to the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, individuals felt uncertain and insecure. We are so fortunate to live in this country. We are law abiding, tax paying citizens and always do the right thing. More money from the government for that extra lane of highway to make my commute faster. Then, the phone calls started and they won't stop. I get hourly calls during the week. They have to get past the doorman first. No one has been fined for failure to comply, and no one ever will be. If you read and listen to them carefully they actually say that it's mandatory and you could be fined. They have also threatened to fine or jail me. Skip to main content. [30] The Census Bureau also maintains that responding to the ACS is mandatory and that recipients are legally obligated to answer all questions.[31]. We already did our duty and answered the regular census. So before you go crying about your rights being violated, try actually reading the document that has given you these rights. They haven't gone so far as to threaten, but I can sense that their tone is getting more firm. Beyond that, please cease and desist all further efforts to gather personal and private information about the members of my household, it will not be provided. I'm too old and sick. The U.S. Census Bureau is suspending efforts to create neighborhood-level statistics on the citizenship and age of residents, using 2020 census data, in the latest rollback of Trump administration. Direct taxes are inherently unfair because one state, with ten percent of the population, might be one of the richest states while another state, with the same percentage of the population, might be one of the poorest. If we don't stand up and protect our rights we will lose them b/c the gvmt is all too happy to take as many away as possible for their own benefit at our expense. You are not the property of business or governments you are continually the result of your feelings. After reading the notes on this site, I decided - ACSdestination, shredder. . There were laws in place to protect those people and they were not protected. Due to a likely technicality, I received this, with the wrong address. When I returned home he was scared and thought he did something wrong. (The car had to pass my house to get to the neighbors.) Do they ever stop with this? My advice based on our experience thus far -- and I am not a lawyer -- just ignore the calls to the best of your ability, and if you answer by accident, simply hang up without conversation. Let this letter be the third request that you respect my privacy and my requests. The second visit, I handed him a sealed census envelope, and he came back and left a note that the computer kicked it out. I would like to inform all participants that your lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session of today's call. They have nothing but their own agenda in mind and any semblance of control we think we have is just that -- a semblance. I had already been a victim of identity theft. It's the amendments that congress is busy adding to the original Constitution while you guys are busy working, fishing, etc., instead of watching congressional actions on C Span or some such that are killing us and our rights. 12286: Don't worry, and don't respond. There is an actual law on the books, but that law has never been applied. I've been through one round of the no-response ordeal back in '08 and everything turned out just fine. To meet hiring needs in instructional areas, we are hosting an in-person job fair at Oakton High School on Saturday, March 4, 2023 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.). I don't mind giving my name, the name of my spouse, children, ages and occupations but that is it. No one from the Census has ever e-mailed you - they don't have e-mail and even if they did, they don't have yours. I left all of the other personal and private questions in the survey unanswered. While the survey states that my address was selected at random for the survey, they have my address and unlisted telephone number, which they call regularly. I was in my PJs and answered the door, thinking it was a neighbor. While I also oppose the Census form being sent out, -anon70698, the number of representatives and taxes will be determined by the number of people in the area is what Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution is about. I first starting receiving these things by mail like 4 years ago. The threat is there because it works. I am a patriot. My husband said he is going to start asking them the personal questions and leave it at that. The gov has lost what is called common sense and buried it under a ton of manure. Why all the bad-mouthing of these people who are taking these jobs to support their families in these hard economic times? I'm paid 400 goats and a chest of elderberries in barter for my services. so the census workers who say, "if you haven't done anything wrong, just answer," well, people who are doing wrong things don't care about america -- they work for the government. But the Supreme Court is not supreme over the other branches of government; it is supreme only over lower federal courts. 0 Total panelists in the survey 11,699 Completed interviews I 10,417 Partial interviews P 0 I will not be giving some 18 year old pimple face unemployed moron my personal information. But, I still don't have a clue where to send the $100 fine. In the current study . [It does not appear that Census is proposing any changes to the ACS instrument.] They do go to your neighbors and landlord if you are a renter, and they do try to threaten and intimidate you by saying that if you don't answer then someone will return and will have the police with them, so yeah, keep on believing that it's all just a few harmless questions. The judge summarized that general statements made by the Census Bureau with regard to, say, the support of federal law or that taking the ACS was required by U.S. law fall short of the benchmark necessary to constitute a specific threat of prosecution. As stated in the US Constitution Article 1 Section 2: I only have to fulfill my duty as a citizen by helping you enumerate, and I'm not required to answer any questions until the next Census in 2010. A: The U.S. Constitution requires that a decennial census be conducted every ten years for the purpose of making an actual enumeration of the persons within each state. I received the ACS a few months ago, did some research and never filled it out. I again said no. This is to help the community -- like heck. What the hell are you mad about? I've been in some pretty terrifying situations and I don't scare that easily. Got this survey in the mail and opened it and started reading the questions and couldn't believe it I was so pissed off, it's really none of their business. For this census at least and I assume for the 2010 Census the initial person that will come to your house, if you did not fill out the form, is just a normal citizen with a temporary job as an "enumerator". Never give any phone numbers (tell them you don't have a phone and your employer forbids giving out the company cellular phone number). The whole purpose of the census getting shortened was to entice people to fill it out, not this 20-page crap. of Commerce rep, and called on my cell phone. They've also visited six of my neighbors, twice each so far. . This was way out of line and uncalled for! Helping this corrupt government "function" is the same thing as helping this corrupt government go kill more people, invade our privacy, tax our income, levy fines, issue permissions slips and tattoo our butts. Title 13 section 141, subsections (a) and (d) authorize surveys. [27] Andrew Reamer, To Take a Bite Out of Crime: Safeguard the Census, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/to-take-a-bite-out-of-crime-safeguard-the-census/. All I can think of is that every time one of us gives in and allows this servant to go unchallenged, then they get bolder, prouder, and we get used to it and then we are eventually abused by them. In 2000 I placed a large sprinkler by my front door. If you are thinking about filling this out, don't! One fact I see missing is that they say you are cheating you state and city out of government funds (our tax dollars). I told her actually it's not. I don't get mad about much but privacy is basic American. Best wishes, and see you all after the election. There should be a law against this. I feel kind of sick too. in the '90s the Commerce Dept decided that I was a resort or apartment complex owner and harassed me to fill out a survey detailing my expenditures on repairs, income reports etc. He gave his name and the number of people living here and refused to answer anything else. American Community Survey. The Census Bureau would have to refer a case to the Dept of Justice, they have no power of their own. don't let them take our rights away even more than they already have. Learn the different ways to respond to the American Community Survey -- online, by phone, by email. In the end, the Census Bureau has the legal authority to conduct the survey and legally has the option of imposing fines for non-compliance. Video camera is by the door for the on-site contact which will be next. This appears to be the same scenario as the ACS. I demanded who he was for the third time and he said us census. Well, I wonder what he's thinking now. This is just crap. Filled out the short form minus birth dates. That is what I've allowed them to do. Happy Holidays. I just had hip surgery, when the buzzer rang this evening (Saturday 6:30p.m.) How much do I make per year? Cowards! I got no answer. City Manager; Commissioner of the Revenue Our surveys provide periodic and comprehensive statistics about the nation. That sort of thing. A: The law requiring answers to the ACS also provides that a person who fails to answer shall be fined not more than $100.[32] The actual fine for a refusal to complete the ACS could be much greater because a failure to respond to certain ACS questions could be considered a separate offense subject to the $100 fine. By phone. It sure the hell is. Title 13 of the United States Code, however, requires that the Census Bureau keep this information confidential and subjects employees who violate this confidentiality requirement to a fine of up to $250,000 USD, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both. Are you willing to roll the dice that this information will remain protected?