2010 Census.....US Government fails again

[5-90]

So what happens if you just fill out the basics(age, sex, marital status,# people living in household)then tell the to piss up a rope?

That was what I did last time. Told them we had five people at that address, and mailed it back.

Then ignored everything they sent along for six months after that.

Then they sent someone out, and asked me why I didn't fill out the survey. I told them they got all of the information they're allowed by law, and have a nice day!

Probably have to go through the same thing again this time. Primary difference? We're only two now.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

census.. we're screwed.

 

[kastein]

....aaaannnnd....you're saying you're not?

You got me. I'm a jeep-driving, 113 year old afghani woman who also happens to be a computer engineer. I've been fooling you all this whole time.

5-90 - I find it amusing that they kept asking for the info they're only allowed to suggest politely that you include...

I'm really tempted to try that Martian thing, especially because my lease is up at the end of May and when they send a bunch of mail about it, I won't get it.

 

[JNickel101]

You got me. I'm a jeep-driving, 113 year old afghani woman who also happens to be a computer engineer. I've been fooling you all this whole time.

5-90 - I find it amusing that they kept asking for the info they're only allowed to suggest politely that you include...

I'm really tempted to try that Martian thing, especially because my lease is up at the end of May and when they send a bunch of mail about it, I won't get it.

LOL, I knew it

 

[87manche]

So what happens if you just fill out the basics(age, sex, marital status,# people living in household)then tell the to piss up a rope?

they threaten you with a felony.

this is not the regular census, this was the "american community survey"

google that up and see what the questions were. I can't believe some people just give that sort of information out without any qualms or questions.

Here's a bit of it

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=99337

that placae definitly has a crazy tin foil vibe, but the statements about what questions were on the survey are correct, along with the 5K dollar fine for not answering.

 

[ECKSJAY]

The founders never authorized the federal government to continuously survey the American people. More importantly, they never envisioned a nation where the people would roll over and submit to every government demand. The American Community Survey is patently offensive to all Americans who still embody that fundamental American virtue, namely a healthy mistrust of government.

Dead...XXXXing...on.

 

[Boatwrench]

Parallel track.

Big debate on the radio talk shows today about supermarket frequent shopper cards.
Why are they tracking your purchases? Store inventory or some other nefarious reason?
Do they sell that information? (well they are in the business to make money).

Apparently in a case in Southern California a patron slipped on a floor and sued the store, the frequent shopper club card records were pulled and the plaintiff settled out of court. The records indicated large quantity and frequent purchases of alcohol over several years.

 

[kastein]

Parallel track.

Big debate on the radio talk shows today about supermarket frequent shopper cards.
Why are they tracking your purchases? Store inventory or some other nefarious reason?
Do they sell that information? (well they are in the business to make money).

Apparently in a case in Southern California a patron slipped on a floor and sued the store, the frequent shopper club card records were pulled and the plaintiff settled out of court. The records indicated large quantity and frequent purchases of alcohol over several years.

iiiiiinteresting.

I like them because they give me discounts, including ten cents per gallon (up to 20 gallons, good for one fill up) per $50 I spend at the store. Not much, but it adds up when I'm buying groceries anyways... and I got dupe cards and gave them out to about half a dozen friends of mine from school who didn't have cars at the time, so their purchases went on my list. For a while I was getting some pretty big discounts on gas, and due to the large number of very different people buying on my discount card, the store couldn't figure out anything about me from my purchase records... the chain of coupons it would spit at me was pretty funny sometimes. At one point I got coupons for some brand of sanitary pads, milk, frito lay products, and Axe deoderant all in a row.

 

[JNickel101]

...I got coupons for some brand of sanitary pads, milk...

See, even they think you're an old woman

 

[RichP]

Parallel track.

Big debate on the radio talk shows today about supermarket frequent shopper cards.
Why are they tracking your purchases? Store inventory or some other nefarious reason?
Do they sell that information? (well they are in the business to make money).

Apparently in a case in Southern California a patron slipped on a floor and sued the store, the frequent shopper club card records were pulled and the plaintiff settled out of court. The records indicated large quantity and frequent purchases of alcohol over several years.

The suppliers like coke and pepsi use those numbers to add stock and lower or raise prices, they get to compare their sales with their competitors. For sure the stores make money off of it, big money.

 

[87manche]

I find i funny that the ACS questions are available to corporate pertners. Now, I don't know what kind of information they are getting, whether it's raw data or just the aggregated numbers for the area, but isn't it just a bit scary that wal-Mart gets to access US Census/Commerce data in determining where they're going to put a store, and what kind of demographics are around?
The ACS has much more to do with the commerce dept than the census bureau, it's pupose is to generate longterm, realtime (well, much more current tan the census) data so that information can be used by business and the gubment to determine your areas overall standard of living and economy.

Frankly, I will refuse to answer the questions in this form. I even wrote a nice handwritten note on the front of it regarding my refusal. To my knowledge no one has ever been prosecuted for failing to fill out the form, and the Census/Commerce people have even stated that they are not an enforcement agency, and have no authority to impose those fines.
There's no reason that the government needs to know my work schedule, where I work, how much money we make, what my property is worth, whether or not I have problems taking care of myself or if we have hot water.
I'm a little bit leary of giving any financial information to the government, since they take care of data so well. A few years ago I got a letter stating that my personal information, inclusing my SSN and other information, was on a laptop computer stolen from a state workers car. It was left unattended, in an unlocked vehicle, in a parking garage with the personal information (unencrypted no less!!) of about a half a million Ohioans.
but I got this nice apology letter from the state...

 

[ECKSJAY]

Apparently in a case in Southern California a patron slipped on a floor and sued the store, the frequent shopper club card records were pulled and the plaintiff settled out of court. The records indicated large quantity and frequent purchases of alcohol over several years.

[citation needed]

 

[Boatwrench]

Here ya go!

 

[ECKSJAY]

Here ya go!

Oh...I meant something credible.

Rivera was shopping at a Los Angeles Vons store two years ago when he slipped on a slick of spilled yogurt, causing him to fall and shatter his kneecap. Unable to drive, let alone work, he sued the store for damages. During the negotiations, says 59-year-old Rivera, a mediator played hardball in encouraging him to settle. "He came in and said, 'They want to settle because they have information that you buy a lot of liquor,'" he recalls. As Rivera tells it, the mediator indicated that the store had accessed his shopping records and would use them against him in court.

Rivera didn't settle the case, which is due for trial on Oct. 19 -- instead, he went to the local media. And Vons, which now says it never peeked at the records or intended to use them in court, backed down from its threat.

What was the outcome of the trial?

 

[Darky]

I find i funny that the ACS questions are available to corporate pertners. Now, I don't know what kind of information they are getting, whether it's raw data or just the aggregated numbers for the area, but isn't it just a bit scary that wal-Mart gets to access US Census/Commerce data in determining where they're going to put a store, and what kind of demographics are around?
The ACS has much more to do with the commerce dept than the census bureau, it's pupose is to generate longterm, realtime (well, much more current tan the census) data so that information can be used by business and the gubment to determine your areas overall standard of living and economy.

Frankly, I will refuse to answer the questions in this form. I even wrote a nice handwritten note on the front of it regarding my refusal. To my knowledge no one has ever been prosecuted for failing to fill out the form, and the Census/Commerce people have even stated that they are not an enforcement agency, and have no authority to impose those fines.
There's no reason that the government needs to know my work schedule, where I work, how much money we make, what my property is worth, whether or not I have problems taking care of myself or if we have hot water.
I'm a little bit leary of giving any financial information to the government, since they take care of data so well. A few years ago I got a letter stating that my personal information, inclusing my SSN and other information, was on a laptop computer stolen from a state workers car. It was left unattended, in an unlocked vehicle, in a parking garage with the personal information (unencrypted no less!!) of about a half a million Ohioans.
but I got this nice apology letter from the state...

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/ACS-1(info)(2010) Stateside English_web.pdf

List of all questions in the 2010 survey

 

[JNickel101]

....that's a lot of questions....

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

I'm doing question 1

and thats all.

 

[87manche]

....that's a lot of questions....

not invasive at all right?
just questions about your mortgage and what time you go to work and come home everyday.

 

[JNickel101]

I'm just shocked that it is written in English, and not bi or tri-lingual....

 

[Darky]

I'd be worried the gov't would show up while I'm at work and steal all my stuff. What other purpose could they have for wanting to know the hours that I'm gone and how far away I am when gone...

Personally I like the one where they ask if I have a mental condition that makes it hard to make decisions. I'm gonna write in, "I don't know!!!" and make a little circle next to it to fill in.