Just saw a news story about how there are "census trucks" going around the country passing out a tote bag containing all this stuff:

a water bottle

two plastic cups

another tote bag!!!

a chip clip

another tote bag!!!

ice scraper

Yes, there were two tote bags inside the tote bag!! Could they be any more wasteful??? Did they really need to put so much stuff in the tote bag?? How about just giving away a chip clip?? This is just plain disgusting.

The truck was at one of our local malls yesterday. And they gave the locations the truck will be at for the next couple of days.

The news said the cost of this program was $15,000,000

Said the total amount being spent for advertising is $300,000,000

ETA:

Forgot to say that a very large portion of the shoppers at the mall that was involved yesterday are Canadian and they were given the tote bags. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

I agree a total waste of money, that money could go to feed alot of hungry and homeless people . Peace. Catherine

Wow I just posted on another about the old fashioned, out of date paper fans. I didn't see any of what you have listed.

The whole giveaway thing is absolutely AWFUL

dl

Then you can blame Obama.

Seriously.

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

Yeah, the reporter actually had the tote bag and took everything out of it on the air and showed what was in the bag.

welcome to spend friendly Obama nation, no wonder Change has come. You voted for this.

Wowitsdark seriously another problem to blame Obama now the Census is his problem also cmon again what about the trillions of dollars for the war?????????. Stop putting the blame on Obama for everything he is not perfect I stated that so many times, But on this your wrong I simply said it was a waste and all that money could go to feed the hungry and the homeless your comments were not necessary honestly they were not. Peace to our nation and country to heal . Catherine

I told you guys the Census is a fiscally irresponsible agency. And I seriously don't think they are the worse. This is how govt entities do things they spend spend spend. That's why this country has been going downhill for years. It's not just Obama's fault-govt agencies are fiscally irresponsible. For the most part the people in middle management and on up have no experience in the real world having to budget and be money wise. They have spent most of their post college lives in govt jobs since the days when things were flush. They don't deal in reality.

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

Um, seriously, Cathrine. I wasn't joking.

Did you read the article I posted?

One of the first things Obama did after he took office last year was declared that he wanted his office to have direct oversight of the census. I years past, it had been conducted pretty independently. Republicans were angry and said it was unprecedented for the President - a member of one of our political parties - to have fingers in the pot with the census, and that it left open the possibility for political parties to skew the way census activities were conducted to benefit their own party... resulting in numbers of respondents from districts that traditionally leaned liberal or conservative... resulting in more money going to the political base of the President.

I, for one, have not received any goodies like bags or water bottles. I haven't seen anything of that sort.

I'm not sure where KJ lives. I live in the reddest of the red states. So far, beyond nationally-televised ads (such as during the Super Bowl and the Olympics) and the three overkill mailings, I have not seen a local push to count my city or state.

Look at this blurb put out by the census people:

So... I have no awareness of them pushing so hard to come to *my* state to do some of the P.R. that some around the nation report. I'd like to know if more money is spent on goodies like tote bags in areas that are traditionally 'blue' or if they are making the PR push for 'red' areas with the same amount of gusto.

By the way... how many trees had to die so they could remind us twice by mail???

I am in Niagara Falls, NY. The truck was parked at the Fashion Outlets Mall and the news gave the locations the truck would be going to next.