The Census Bureau is actually sending out postcards to most homes telling them the Census is coming to their mailbox soon. I don't care if it only costs a penny a postcard how can they justify this huge expense? People are losing their homes due to job loss, people are paying higher taxes than in years past. Food and other prices are rising and YOUR tax dollars are being spent to put a card in peoples' mailboxes telling them the Census is coming. DUH! When it gets to your mailbox won't you know it's there? And I bet it hasn't occurred to too many people to actually complain directly to the White House or the Census Bureau that they object to the waste of THEIR tax dollars.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Postcards?

I got a long envelope!

It's a good thing, too, since I only got to see that Super Bowl ad 20 times. Otherwise I might have completely ignored the real census materials! lol

Census Mailer A Waste Of Money?digtriad.com | Triad, NC | National and World News Article

For some reason I thought it was a postcard. I haven't received mine yet.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I got a long envelope too.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

That's funny you mention that. I'm at my daughter's house and she got one and commented on what a waste it was.

It just says basically..."you will be receiving a census" silly stuff.

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Melissa

me too. what a waste! "You will be receiving the census in about a week".

Is this really necessary? Bleh

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I'm with you! I got mine yesterday and couldn't believe they wasted money on that. It's ridiculous!

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Kim

You shouldn't be surprised, they are wasting money on everything.

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

True

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Kim

Hubby opened ours last week and commented on the waste also.
Judy

I admit that I have NOT read this article. Not a single word of it. I don't know if it is a conservative site, a liberal site, or a non-partisan site. I just googled Obama Census and it's the first link that came up after a Fox story from a year ago.

Obama shifts Census oversight, triggering angry protest by Republicans (2/6/09) -- GovExec.com

I remember soon after Obama took office that there was some hullabaloo about him wanting the executive branch to take control of the census. Republicans weren't happy, of course, with that change since they didn't trust his motives. I don't even remember the details of how census oversight had occurred previously - just that there was scuttlebutt when he wanted it to change hands.

*DID* it change from being overseen by another agency to the Obama administration? And if so, is it the administration that is responsible for this PR overkill?

I got the long envelope a couple days ago.This will be my very first census.

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I got the long envelope today letting me know that the census would be arriving in the mail next week... gee thanks! I often need to be reminded to look in my mailbox! Wasteful and stupid!!

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Check out my homepage http://julie.mycoupons.com/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

LOL!!!

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I saw that too, but on the bottom of mine it had multiple languages and offering to help fill out their census paperwork in those languages.

I think they are reaching out to many different people in the letter I got.

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-Kristi

Dumb question here - and I am sure that I could figure it out if I just googled - but are they counting illegals, or just citizens?

They count everyone. I read they don't ask if you're a citizen or not however when I was doing ACS (American Community Survey formerly known as the long form) it was one of the questions and I asked every single person that question.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

That's probably why the Repubs were so mad that Obama announced he was taking such a heavy hand in it last year.

Voting districts with higher numbers of illegals tend to lean Democratic in elections. If they gerrymander based on population - not citizens, but population - Democrats have a fair amount to gain from this census.

That's what they've been saying. (as in "they")

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I'm a Fox watcher, and haven't heard it mentioned recently. I usually just watch O'R religiously, and like to have Megan Kelley (sp?) on during the day, and I don't know that they've reported on it.

Has the MSM talked about it much?

I also got a lettter in the mail and came home a few days ago to a Census 2010 bag hanging on my door, with the census form inside.

I'm assuming a Census employee delivered it, although not quite sure about that.

Most of it I've read in articles I've heard a few people on the radio bringing it up (not the mailings but how it will affect Congressional districts).

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Why is this shocking?? The government wastes our money every day.....

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Be careful what you wish for.....

I got the long letter also and had the same thought as everyone else as to the extreme waste of money of postal money, not to mention the waste of paper (think trees) and someones wages to prepare that mailing.

As for the different languges (sp) and offering to assist people in filling them out, that message could just as well have been included in the census paper when it arrives.
As if they couldn't figure out any other way to waste taxpayer monies.

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Barb


My GOD Bless our Country and our Troops, and rid the World of terroists.

My form was hanging on my front door last week, so they paid someone to deliver it to my house. I wonder how they decide who gets theirs hand delivered and who gets theirs mailed to them? As far as the post cards being mailed/waste of money, it was the same way when we got that stimulus payment, we got a letter in advance saying that we were going to receive a stimulus payment.

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Do you live in a town where mail is delivered to PO Boxes? If so that would explain it. If not another waste of money. Mailing it costs way less than paying someone an hourly wage + mileage.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Yes, I do live in a town where the mail is delivered to PO Boxes. I am not understanding why it couldn't be delivered to a PO Box, since there is NO HOME delivery in our area? That's how we get every other piece of mail. Are they not allowed to deliver to PO Boxes? Yes, it would be a waste of money for someone to drive here, unless the worker already lived here. We are 25 miles from a larger town, so 50 miles roundtrip for someone to drive out here.

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Yes they do deliver to PO Boxes however if they don't know your address they bring it to the door. That's because the Census bureau doesn't cross reference with any other government agencies per se. Although the reps are expected to check the property tax database so if you were to not send it back in the individual rep would either go to or call or look online to the property tax database, see who the owner is, and find out the mailing address. However they would first come to your door and either get the filled out form or ask you the questions. That is if you answer the door and agree to do one or the other. And of course they will hand you a letter telling you that it's required by law and if you don't respond there is a fine (as stated in the last thread) but no worries NOBODY has ever been fined and there is not even an enforcement division so there is nobody to fine you.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

We have a PO box and I found ours hanging on our door knob when I got home from work.

I don't have a PO box and my was hanging from the doorknob. They were able to mail the letter to me to look for the form. so it doesn't matter if you have a PO box or not. It still boils down to wasting money.
I don't necessarily have a problem with the ads -- it is the timing. Why pick one of the most expensive time slots to purchase.

I'm just upset that I didn't get a letter telling me I was going to get the letter telling me I was going to get the census.

Has the census always been this short? Just ages, birth dates, race? I have filled out several over the years, but you know 10 years goes by and you forget. It seems as though they were more lengthy in the past, asking for income, whether you have running water, how many bathrooms that type thing or maybe I am thinking of something different?

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No there used to be two forms the "long" form and the "short" form with a percentage of the households getting each of them. Then they went to the "long" form now it's the new shorter one which I believe is a response to the feelings of the public on the "long" form being so intrusive asking about income, what time you leave for work, how long it takes to get there, etc.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I just heard a commercial on the radio that asked you to please fill out your census form by mid April or they will send someone to your house in June and July to gather the info. It tells you that the prepaid envelope costs less than the $25 it will cost to send someone to your home so please try to save money and turn it in on time.

I think it's funny they ask you to "save money" after all the waste of commercials, pre-census letters, etc. What they don't say is how much the "please save money" commercial cost us

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I heard some guy on TV say that it costs $60 for a home visit. I delivered the census forms for my route on Monday. As of today, I estimate that at least 50% of my customers have returned them to me (mailed from their mailbox) Other carriers report similar #s. I think that is a very high compliance so far- maybe all that publicity works.

I'm sitting on mine. DH and I are in disagreement as to how much of the info asked we want to fill out. Since I fill out the paperwork in the house, I'm betting I win but I really don't want a knock on my door in a few months because I didn't answer all the questions..

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I got mine, filled it out and mailed it back the same day. No big deal.

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Mom to Jake, Zach & Meghan
SJCC STREAKS FOOTBALL!!
CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL!

Ours came yesterday. Dh and I were talking about how much to fill in. Let them show up at my door cuz we didn't answer the questions. They won't be welcome, they won't get the info they want....it's none of their business....period. They know way too much anyways.

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

That's how I feel as well. They have my name and birthdate on my tax return along with my kids. I don't mind saying how many people are in the house but the other questions they either already have the info or it isn't their business. They really only need the head count to provide services in our area from my understanding. This is my first census to fill out. We didn't get one last time around (no idea why).

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Same here. It literally took 2 minutes to complete for DH and me.

Got mine, sent it back. The only thing I think mine asked was names and birthdays of household members and whether we owned or rented.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

Same here. Piece of cake!

Another spending of taxpayer money: Today I volunteered at the annual Project Homeless Connect. Every single person who came through intake was given a big black shaving kit type bag that says Census 2010 on it. I went up to the lady manning the Census booth and said "I have a question and I'm not a trouble maker. Well ok yes I am a trouble maker. Were those bags paid for with private donations or taxpayer money?" She looked at me and said "taxpayer money". I just said "ok" since it was neither the time nor the place to get into it but I was annoyed to say the least. It's one thing for Census employees to chip in but to spend the taxpayer money is something different. They also gave away reusable coffee mugs, drawstring bags that said Census 2010, magnets, and other things. All on the taxpayer dime.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

This sort of thing is why I think the CBO estimates of the health care bill are bunk. When does the government EVER jump into anything and NOT spend more than they said they would on the front end??? And how often do their best-laid plains fail miserably???

FOXNews.com - Census 2010 Plagued By Technical Difficulties

I agree wow and I'll add that not only do they spend so much more money than they project there is also so much red tape involved with every little decision (expect apparently the unnecessary spending of money) that nothing of any value gets accomplished.
I truly believe that the people who work in government in middle management and on up are so out of touch with reality and fiscal responsibility that they are driving the rest of us into a deep dark hole from which the country cannot and will not be able to get itself out of.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I just got a postcard today stating that I should have received the census a few days ago & to return it promptly.

Hopefully, this will be the end of the census mail.

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We're off to never never land

I got the same postcard today too. It went in the front door and straight through to file 13.
Yes, yet another waste of our taxpayer money.

I filled out the stupid census form, but I didn;t include names nor birthdays, only ages. That is absolutely the only info they actually need. And I wrote a notation on the form stating as much. They better hope they don't send someone to my door. If I should happen to open the door they may want to exit the property quicker then they arrived. And definitely not come with virgin ears.

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Barb


My GOD Bless our Country and our Troops, and rid the World of terroists.

Refusing to answer is wasting taxpayer money, but I suspect you'll be making up for some of it:
Refusing to answer either the brief 2010 Census form or the longer ACS form is a violation of federal law (Title 13, United States Code, Section 221). Refusing to answer is punishable by a fine of $100, while giving false answers carries a fine of up to $500. (As a practical matter, Census says fines of up to $5,000 can be imposed under Title 18, Section 3571.)

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

There is NO fine as there is no enforcement division. NOBODY in the history of the Census have ever been fined. Reps have requested that people be fined because when people refuse their stats go down and they are in danger of losing their jobs. You must have a certain percentage of your cases for a response rate.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I put our total family count and ages. I too feel that is all they need. I feel it can expose my family to identity theft by putting names and birthdays on it. If they really need this info, they can pull it off my tax return.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003