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”
Thanks Cathy, I have read your years worth of helpful information posts. I assume the 90 day cycle is still the norm and that there has been no changes in the CB’s tatics? I am expecting my 2nd survey in the mail any day. No phone calls that I know of yet. I can’t imagine just filling in the number of people as I expect to have to do that anyway in 2010? Thanks again. Paul
Paul, the info is used to employ social, behavioral and economic scientists. The subcommittee which allowed the CB to use the “mandatory” on the survey did so with the stipulation that no one would be fined for not responding. The treats are to encourage compliance. They want the info not fines. Too many groups wait for the release of this data from the CB each year. The CB uses their surveys to keep their budgets and staff increasing.
So, for all of us that refuse this, being ‘randomly’ selected, they will now have us on an even more limited list. Who is to say that they won’t prosecute this later when they do have the funds and the resources allocated for this? What is the Statute of Limitations for refusing this Legal Survey? Also, for those of you who are just filling out the number of people, why? This can’t be a Census, it isn’t a Census year. You will have to just fill it out again with the Constitutionally mandated 2010 Census. They can’t need this info twice in a year, so the number of people can’t be the point of this “Survey”. It has to be to gather the other information.
Cathy,
TKS for the encouragement. I chalked this up to their last desperate attempt to get us to respond to that outrageous survey. I’m not worried about the outcome, but my spousal unit is nervous. The womanazi tried to call us three times after finally leaving, but caller ID is a great thing 🙂
I would like to see this person disciplined, but I suppose she’ll just go harass and intimidate some other poor schmuck now. We could probably balance the budget if we’d get rid of all the unnecessary government agencies, which is to say, about 90% of them, starting with the Census Bureau (temp employment every 10 years should work for an actual census).
Cheers.
DS, Wow! Your treatment by the CB field rep was way over the top. They are taught to be persistent but yours was abusive. You won’t be fined or jailed for failing to respond to the survey and you should be free of them by the 1st of Dec.
Excerpts from my letter to my congressmen after the Census worker attempted to enter my home today by force:
Senator XXX,
[Personal info removed]
I am writing to request that you and Sen. YYY and Rep. ZZZ please call off the Census Bureau people who have been harassing my wife and me for the past 3 months. Today, one of the Census Bureau representatives attempted to enter my home here in XYZ, MD by force. This is completely unacceptable behavior on the part of anyone who claims to represent the USG.
In spite of the Census workers insistence, we did not receive the so-called American Community Survey documents in the mail, so we did not respond to this “random” survey (which begs the question – if it is random, how can it possibly be a census?).
After many phone calls from the Census Bureau, wherein the caller either left no message (our caller ID showed it was the Census Bureau) or the caller left threatening messages, which we did not respond to, they have started sending Census workers to our residence. When the first one showed up, I answered his questions about how many adults live at this address… He then started to ask me all sorts of intrusive personal questions, which I refused to answer. After my refusal to answer questions that go far beyond the scope and spirit of the US Constitutional requirement, he threatened me with jail and massive monetary fines. I sent him packing.
He returned many times while we were at work or away from home, leaving many threatening notes and demands that I contact him to complete this “survey”. As a result, I looked up the ACS online and was absolutely astonished and horrified at the types of questions being asked and how many, and the intrusive and personal nature of this entire document. I was also aghast at the threats included against citizens in this document. The questions contained in this document have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Constitutional requirement to enumerate the population every 10 years for the purpose of apportioning representation in the Congress.
Because of the intrusive and personal nature of these questions, I and my wife have not and will not answer them. We have provided everything that is actually required for a census as laid out in the US Constitution. We will not provide any other information to these harassers.
Once it became clear that I would not answer these questions for the first Census worker, a female worker began leaving notes on our door, insisting that we are required by law, under penalty of jail sentences and heavy fines, to answer the questions contained in this noxious and patently un-American “survey”. Today, she finally caught us at home, and after being told that we will not complete the survey or talk to her, she refused to leave the property, began pounding on the door and yelling and demanding that we answer her questions. After restraining my dogs, I went to the door to tell her again to leave, and she attempted to force her way into my house. She left only when I picked up the telephone to call the local police, but again left threatening notes on my door.
It is time to call off these dogs. This “survey” is way out-of-bounds, and these petty tyrants who are attempting to collect information they have no right to or need for, are over the top. The next time they come by, I will not wait to ask them to leave; I will call the police immediately.
I have never been so shabbily treated by my own government, and certainly never expected to be. This is a government agency that is clearly out of control and needs to be severely curtailed, if not eliminated altogether. Perhaps that should be the goal of a future bill in Congress. In the meantime, I am asking that your office contact the Census Bureau and stand them down. I will provide the names of the Census workers who have been so aggressive and intrusive if you need them
Thank you for your assistance in this distasteful matter.
(Yep, another “dangerous right-wing extremist”, who believes the government needs to stay out of my life)
My experience may help others decide how to deal with this inherently unconsitutional “survey” and it’s accompanying “law.”
I received the highly intrusive survey in the mail. I duly ignored it.
After a couple of weeks I received a phone call. The nice bureaucrat was polite and never mentioned any legal implications. I declined the phone interview and continued to ignore the mailed survey.
The systematic phase of non-stop phone calls then began. Utlizing that revolutionary new technology known as Caller Id, I simply screened any number I did not recognize as someone I know. The cowards could not even take the time to leave a message 98% of the time. I continued to ignore the mailed survey, and anticipated the expected “field representative” visit with building bemusement. She showed up after only about 2 weeks of harassing phone calls.
I agreed in principle to answer only those questions that appeared on the 2000 decennial long form, and she accepted “refused” for anything else. In fact, I gave her even less than the principle would suggest – no names and no $ amounts of any kind. The nice bureaucrat accepted “refused” as a standard, valid answer on her nice little laptop. She made no mention of any legal implications. *She also volunteered the refusal rate is very high in general*
We’ll see if they come back with any legal threats. Not likely, I think. More likely, this is just a predictable story of nice little bureaucrats reaching beyond their constitutional bounds, and knowing it. The thing every true citizen must do now is give the nice little bureaucrats the minimum they need to check their little procedural boxes AND JOIN THE GROWING GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT TO ELECT LAWMAKERS AND EXECUTIVES WITH THE CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES TO REIGN IN STUFF LIKE THIS! Taking over Congress in 2010 will be a good start. As for me, I’ll be joining the crowd of “dangerous right-wing extremists” paying a visit to Nanny Pelosi and the Capitol tomorrow. It’s time to make the Constitution relevant again.
Mindy, you have come to the right place. You’ll do just fine.
I am so glad I found this site! I just recieved my 28 page book in the mail this week. I could not believe the questions it had! I will not give out the info they are asking for, they can kiss my happy ass! I am a bit nervous after reading some of the comments, but I refuse to tell them all that info. I have never heard of this until I recieved it in the mail. I do not know anyone that has recieved one other then myself. I have asked people if they recieved one, and they look at me like I am nuts. I will keep up with this website, just in case I need some encouragement 🙂
God Bless America!
Unfortunately, that bill probably won’t even get to the floor for a vote. But don’t worry, the mandatory was add to the survey to increase response rates and with the stipulation that no one would be fined. In order to have a nanny state one needs data on those who can be persuaded to take handouts. The gov that can give you all you want is big enough to take all you have. The insurance question wasn’t added for grins.