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”
Visited the blog after almost 1 year.
Wanted to check if there are any posts/thoughts regarding the impending 2010 census. Am sure its going to be just as intrusive.
joe
No one has been fined for the ACS and the last one fine for failing to fill out the census was in 1960. It is a threat to improve the response rate.
We’ve received 2 copies of the ACS, a reminder card, 2 phone calls, 2 visits and a letter.
I’ve been extremely polite to the people involved. They are doing their job, and they have been polite in response.
The man who came to our house was cordial. When he told me that we could be fined, I told him that I understand. He said he’d have to mark us down as a refusal. Again, I told him that I understand. I told him the only thing we were comfortable with was reporting that there are four people who live in the house. He made a lot of small talk; I started wondering if he was fishing for answers that he could fill in “for us” so he wouldn’t have to come back? (We live quite out of the way.) I told him straight out that we were not upset that he came to our house, that we understand he is doing his job, but that we won’t be answering any of the questions.
He met my husband and me; he realizes that we are intelligent people who refuse to be bullied. The large American and Gadsden flags flying on the flagpole in the front yard might be an indicator that we won’t go quietly into the night. :0)
I keep searching to see if I can find anyone who has actually been fined. Does anyone know?
OMG. I am so glad I found this site. I thought I was alone because no one else here has gotten one and I have gotten my second phone call on Sunday evening. Now I am really ready to go at it.
Only 1/3 of the number on non-responders actually get the visits. There’s not enough time or money to contact all non-responders.
Mike, I guess my husband and I got off easier than a lot of people. We got our first survey in April 2009. My husband stuck it in a drawer. Two weeks later we got a reminder card in the mail. Two weeks after that we got another survey. We had no intentions of answering those invasive questions. Around Memorial Day we started getting phone calls. We got maybe 10-15 calls until they stopped in June, after three weeks. One man told my husband that he worked for the U.S. Government and my husband had to answer all the survey questions. My husband told him that he used to work for the U.S. Government in the military and he didn’t have to answer anything. The last call we got was from a woman and my husband told her that three adults live here and that’s all she needs to know. No more calls. We started bracing for visits, but nobody came and they didn’t bother our neighbors, either. I don’t know why the harrassment didn’t continue unless they realized they were up against a hard-core military veteran who was set in his ways. Stay strong and don’t let them intimidate you. What they are doing is wrong.
Mike – Hang in there, friend. Don’t give up. When you have a chance, I do suggest that you vent your concerns to your elected officials regarding the ACS. In the meantime, make a “personal (or family) plan” on how you will handle and manage Phase II and Phase III of the pending harassment. It sounds like you are in Phase I (the mailings). Phase II for most people consists of phone calls, if the CB get acquire your phone number(s); more mailings may occur. Phase III, according to most “victims” is the WORST phase….this is when the census workers/field representatives begin ringing/knocking and walking around your property. Do you confront them (firmly, but politely)? Do you plan to ignore them (i.e. do not answer the door)? That’s your choice. Read the numerous blog sites on the internet to help you make a decision. As for me….I think I am in the last week or so of Phase III. I decided NOT to respond and NOT answer the door. I throw anything away that does NOT have my name on it, regardless if it’s left on my door, mailbox, vehicles, etc. So far, I have managed to evade the “gestapo.” Their tactics and methods are HIGHLY instrusive and in one case criminal (tailgating my wife into our neighborhood at 8:35 PM, blocking her in our driveway, then trying to chase her on foot before she closed the garage door!)…so be prepared. Tell your neighbors what you are going through and ask them not to tell these people anything. I am still numb about the ACS and what’s happening at the Census Bureau. It makes you wonder what the 2010 census will look like (which is not the same as the ACS)…..I think it hits the streets next spring(?). Mike….you are NOT alone! You are standing tall with many other great Americans!
Hi All.
Its almost 4 AM EST here. I got my ACS in the mail yesterday, opened it up tonight, and haven’t been able to sleep since.
I cannot believe this…my options are to either fill this out (truthfully or with BS information), or prepare myself for 90 days worth of harassment!? What the hell?! I am furious over this. I don’t want to answer it, but I also don’t want my neighbors, guests, friends, etc. harassed when they come to visit. I also can’t believe the hours of contact, people getting calls after 9 PM, before 6 AM…that is harassment, plain & simple. I guess I have to start mentally preparing myself for the fight.
I have to be up for work in 3 hours, and I’m debating calling out because I haven’t sleep a wink since I opened this envelope earlier tonight. For the record, I’m a leftie but also a privacy advocate, and I can’t believe this is legal. Just astonishing.
I fortunately have no land line, just an unlisted cell phone. But just to be on the safe side, I made a new number on Google Voice, which redirects to my cell, and gave it out only to the friends & family I call regularly. Any call directly to my cell and not to my GV number will be ignored and sent directly to voicemail. I also keep long hours at work and travel frequently, so that helps as well. Lastly, I have a gated drive to the back door of the house, so that will hopefully provide me with a safe, harassment free path to my property.
I am so livid right now. Let the 90 begin.
-Mike
Thus far, I’ve received two of the ACS forms from the Census Bureau. As with most of you, I saw the words “Required by law to respond” and that sent up the red flags. After reading through the contents of the survey, I was utterly appalled by how invasive it was. The guise under which this survey is presented – to assist with the placement of schools, fire stations, hospitals, etc – is absurd to the point of being downright insulting to one’s intelligence.
I will not be filling out the survey. I will provide them with the information they require – the number of voting-age adults present in my home. Nothing more. Should they decide to pursue this matter – which I have no doubts they will – my wife and I are prepared to engage them on any front they decide to attack.
Thanks to all who commented here – you’ve armed me with some invaluable information. I’ll post again when
Unlike most of you, my first encounter was someone knocking on my door. He introduced himself and said he wanted to ask some questions pertaining to the US census. He said it would take about 45 minutes and we need to do this inside. I told him no, I didn’t have time for that. He said thats fine we can set up another time to do this. I told him for the sake of the census that 2 people lived here and that was all I could do for him and he left. Got a follow up letter and pamphlet 2 days later with a number to call. My phone is unlisted so I am not calling to give them my number as a previous poster advised. Will wait anxiously for their return.