Fear Tactics. As Counter Productive As A Yippie Dog Chasing Its Own Tail.

A number of prominent conservative and libertarian Republicans have been blasting the census for months.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., began the barrage last year when she asserted — incorrectly — that the information reported by Americans could be used for nefarious governmental ends, such as imprisonment in internment camps.

“The invasive nature of the current census raises serious questions about how and why government will use the collected information,” Texas Repulican, Ron Paul said recently.

Houston-area GOP lawmakers say anti-census feelings run deep among their constituents.

“People are concerned about the apparent intrusive nature of the census,” said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble. “People are very concerned that the government is going too far.”

“Still”, Poe said, “it’s very important for people to fill out the census because of reapportionment and redistricting — and Texas stands to gain four (House) seats.”

But Texas can only get those seats, and the congressional clout that comes with it, if Texans stand up to be counted. Any conservative revolt would only reduce the representation in conservative areas of the state.

As of Friday afternoon, only 27 percent of Texas households had filled in and returned their census forms — well below the national average of 34 percent — according to computer data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Harris County, the response rate is 23 percent. Houston’s returns are running at 21 percent.

So what invasive and intrusive questions are being asked on this year’s census?

• Name
• Sex
• Age and date of birth
• Race (you may choose one or more races)
• Hispanic origin (considered an ethnicity, not a race)
• Relationship (How are the people in the household related to each other?)
• Housing tenure (Is the home owned or rented?)

Now don’t you just feel dirty from all that personal invasion?

Actually, the 2010 census is LESS intrusive than previous years. In the past, all households received either the short-form questionnaire or the long-form questionnaire, with most households receiving the short-form and one in six receiving the long-form. The long-form questionnaire contained additional questions, such as income levels, language ability and place of birth, and asked for more detailed socioeconomic information. The 2010 Census will only utilize a short-form questionnaire and will count everyone living in the United States regardless of citizenship status. Thus each household will receive a short-form for Census 2010.

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