By Carol Costello and Bob Ruff
Ever wonder why we have a census? The answer is right there in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States:
"Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers ... 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."
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/03/census.art.jpg caption="The short form of the 2010 census has just 10 questions, but it is controversial."]
Monday, August 2, 1790 marked the start of the first census. It was then, and still is now, used to determine each state’s allocation of members in the House of Representatives. But as the country has grown from just under the 4 million people counted in that very first census, to the nearly 300,000,000 counted in 2000, so too has its uses. Today the census also helps determine how many federal dollars go to which states, and it gives agencies national social and health statistics that are used for policy purposes. And in addition to the short form that counts every American, there are longer, much more detailed forms that go out to smaller numbers of Americans each year.
The short form of the 2010 census has just 10 questions, but it is controversial.
Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann has been among the most vocal critics. She says the census questions represent government intrusion, such as Question 4 on the form: “What is your telephone number?” Bachmann told CNN she only plans to list the number of people in her household on her 2010 form because the Constitution doesn’t require any information beyond that.
CNN’s Carol Costello spoke with one census worker, who preferred to remain anonymous so that he could speak more freely, to see what kind of response he gets when he asks questions of people who share Rep. Bachmann’s privacy concerns.
“Carl”, the census worker, said he’s concerned that Bachmann’s objections reinforce the fear that some Americans already have about the census: “Some of them are pretty blunt.,” said “Carl.” “They say I’m not talking to you. I don’t want to have anything to do with the government. I’m not talking to you or anything. Get off my property or I’ll call the police.”
Feelings like that have led the Bureau of the Census to spend more than $300 million on advertising, including this highly-produced video.
“It should take every household ten minutes to fill out this form,” says Census Director Robert Groves. “That’s not a lot to ask once every 10 years. The questions are questions you’ve answered plenty of times. They’re not intrusive questions, so we need the participation of everyone and we’ve made it as simple as we can to try to garner that participation.”
As for the privacy concerns of Bachmann and others, Groves says they needn’t worry: “One of the things that everyone should know, especially people worried about privacy and their own safety, is that we have a law that is the infrastructure of the Census Bureau that will send me to prison for 5 years and give me a $250,000 fine if I release any personally identifiable data. This is a serious law.”
It’s a message “Carl,” the census worker hopes sinks in:
“Some people refuse to answer some of the questions we ask, like personal questions like birth date … It would be good if people understood that all the information that people provide is confidential.”