Did anyone else receive one of these? According to their web site, US Code Title 13, sections Section 141 and Section 193 your response is required by law.
In reality, those sections outline that The Secretary (who is presumably defined elsewhere) can take surveys as a part of their census process. It is Section 221 that requires you to respond:
Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided…
That’s just a crock.
Oh, sure, census information is useful and all that. It’s just the principal of it. I guess I’ll have to ask the nice lady who came to my door for some evidence that she is an authorized officer or employee of the Deparment of Commerce, or a bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of The Secretary.
Heck, I’d pay the $100 if it weren’t for Title 18, Section 3571 (allegedly Section 3559 as well, but that seems to deal with imprisonment and not monetary fines). With it on the books, the “not greater than $100” fine becomes “not greater than $5000” fine. That really blows.
Comments
718 responses to “American Community Survey”
I’m into 100 days with the CB. I have had all the personal calls from reps, 30 phone calls & messages, now they called to tell me I had an appointment scheduled at their office. I WILL NOT go. What is worst about this situation is that it really upsets my wife…she expects them to break down our door any day. I will go to jail if they fine me cause I wont pay it. This is NAZI Germany, WAKE UP people. I have been writing to all congress people and will continue to do so. No one gives me any satisfaction but they know Im out here. This is a real battle for the AMERICA we use to live in. I pay my taxes and am a law abiding citizen I have rights to privacy.
Steve
Yuma, AZ
Lazarus,
Just read a piece in our local paper about 140,000 “special agents” of the CB hired specifically to canvass every street in America to take note of addresses ahead of the 2010 census – some of which could be the long form, most expected to be short. They’ll be outfitted with clipboards and laptops and all properties will go into a GPS database (I imagine for Google Earth). Can’t imagine what this will cost already beleaguered taxpayers! My ordeal continues – another voice mail from Field Rep Supv saying “our voicemail greeting says you’ll call me back….I wish you would.” I’m entering 110 days of this – I wish I had taken your route, Laz.
This is why the ‘avoidance’ tactic doesn’t work well. They will eventurally go away at the end of 90 days. Avoiding them leaves the possibility that you will cooperate. A loose end that still could be wrapped up. The bureau doesn’t want the field reps to give up easily.
I think it’s best to clearly and firmly REFUSE from the begining. I was clear about my position with the phone callers and the calls stopped. Polite but firm with the first caller. Rude and adamant with the second caller that I WILL NOT!. And screw the consequences!!
Never heard from anyone again. No one ever tried to visit me.
I don’t know if my refusals made them skip the visits or perhaps I just didn’t get chosen for a visit.
Lazarus,
This is wearing me out…latest update….a phone call today from the field supervisor saying she has tried “many, many, many times to reach us and to please call her back as she has just a few questions and this won’t take long”. I mean, after almost 4 months of this bs, isn’t it plain to see that perhaps I’m not interested in participating??? Right now, I’d rather have a penalty than another 3 months of this crap and it seems amazing to me that one hasn’t been mentioned at this point. I’m beginning to think I must be one hell of a special individual for them to spend so much time chasing me down!
I decided to mess with the CB personnel some. Since they wanted to know a lot about me that is no one elses business…..I decided to “volunteer” information on myself. Even thought I am not one….I told them I was a nudist and I showed up at my front door totally nude. Then I told them that my penis was 6 and 3/4 inches long and I could hold an erection for at least an hour if the situation was right.
They did not appreciate my humor!!!!
They are just bullies! I can’t believe that people put up with this. If a police officer was harrassing you in this way you could have them fired.
Each time that you allow them ’75 seconds’ they try to pry out a few more bits of information. I won’t defend the field agents, but they are under pressure to keep at you until you cave in.
It’s an outrage. You hang in there. They are making enemies every day. The strategy of doing a slow, quiet, long form census or American Community Survey as they call it, isn’t going to work any better than the 10 year long form did.
Every household is supposed to get the ACS sometime during the 10 years between the ‘real’ census. And every household will get the opportunity to get PO’d.
Cathy,
Thanks for your words of encouragement…I only wish and hope that you are correct. I found myself losing sleep over this last night – it makes me feel like a prisoner in my own home. I find that I open my front door and look around before exiting – how awful to feel this way! I think your theory about the “quality control” is probably correct – information is ammo for them. I also think the field rep supervisor may be checking up on the field rep to see if she ever came out in the first place. I find it incredible that I fell into that 23% group that gets a personal visit – such is my luck! I’m too far in to cave now….
Wow, Ann!
“just 75 seconds for quality control purposes”? What garbage! The CB does likes to find out why people are non-responder so that methods can be developed to combat the resistance. In a effort to get cooperation, the CB trys to do everything it can without making the public angry. This ploy will not help them. Stand strong, we’re pulling for you. It will end.
I thought my 90 days were up until the phone rang tonight at 6 PM and again at 8 PM from the field rep supervisor!! Then she drives into my driveway at 8:45 PM and pounds on the door (I didn’t respond). She left a note card saying that she wanted just “75 seconds of our time for quality control purposes”. This is just ridiculous…now I’m not sure if this will end at all!!
The CB has surely made themselves into one scary beaurocracy and I feel our rights as private citizens slipping away with this survey and it makes me very upset.
What next? You should be done. Your rep failed. The reps make a last ditch effort at the end of the month. Your rep will have some new people to bother this month and should be done with you.