However, that's not all. Relentless! There is an actual law on the books, but that law has never been applied. Please, that's where this money is going in there pockets. In the article above, it mentions the fine is per offense; but I did not read that anywhere in Title 13. As such, any attempt by the government to encroach upon the citizenrys privacy rights or establish a system by which the populace can be targeted, tracked and singled out must be met with extreme caution. 1388. When approached by census officials I will state that my religious beliefs prohibit giving any information beyond my name and the number of people in my house. Is that something you would want to get into the wrong hands? Featured Respond to the ACS EXCLUDE State operated juvenile residential facilities. The survey is clearly an invasion of privacy, and any attempts of the ACS to pursue a fine for failure to submit the survey should be challenged in a court of law on unconstitutional and invasion of privacy grounds. Someone brought up a good point, either here or on another forum. Throw the thing in the garbage, leave on your answering machine for a few weeks, and slam the door in the face of anyone who comes by. The California State Data Center generates reports and tabulations from data files released by the U.S. Census Bureau. and even spells it. Not about us - about adjoining property! I informed the caller, "Eric", that I did not wish to participate in the survey and to please remove my name from their phone list and mailing list. We gave the government the right to count us. The Census Bureau can't issue a fine, they have to refer the case to the Dept. The 10-digit code appears above the address and to the right. Instead of hiring mindless sheep to bother busy, honest, hard working people, the government can hire people to scour the internet for this "readily available information". Well, I wonder what he's thinking now. I have little doubt that the ACS data is already in Israel's possession. Personally, I want to know how many rental houses are in my town, I want all the representatives we deserve and I also really like looking at the 1920 and 1930 census to learn about my ancestors. We filled in very basic info and did put in the drive times. NO ONE EVER GETS IN TROUBLE for refusing to answer. When the government fears the people there is liberty." There is only a theoretical possibility that they could fine you. Firm, clear refusal. I filled in only the number of adults and children and wrote a note on the form that this was the only information I would provide. I don't get mad about much but privacy is basic American. If he shows up, he'll get the same response (or none at all). Their job is to get the form completed, that is all. But I can promise I'll promptly feed it to my hungry paper shredder. That's exactly the number printed on the lower right had corner of my ACS form. any lawyers looking for some pro bono work ready to take up this issue? The Census Bureau does not hire temporary workers to collect data for the American Community Survey. We refused to give information on the cell phone several times. I plan on turning over any fines or issues to these attorneys I know and I have used them before. i feel like a jew in germany when these goons come knocking. all the government tries to say if they want you to do something is say "its the law" thinking people will run and do what they say. Non parlo inglese!" I made the mistake of putting my phone number on the form. The less you say to them the faster they stop bothering you. It sure the hell is. Quid pro quo," then slam the door in their face. The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. And, based on the Census, Virginia had 30 percent of the population of the United States. do i have right to due process? It's just another way to peg the American people to find out who's doing what. The misinformation spewed from people here is laughable. They bring in all additional people running up monies needed for schools, social programs. Last year I was hounded by these people and they are back I am so glad I did not answer or call or contact them I cannot believe this information is relevant for city planningthe person above said it best. Wake up America! Everyone tells me to throw it in the trash! First of all, get a clue! He came to my door anyway. There's no excuse for making a living out of trying to intimidate American citizens and using lies about the law to create a threatening and harassing atmosphere on one's own private property. I will not answer and/or return this form in spite of threats of fine, imprisonment or court appearance regardless of where the threat comes from. Since when has the Federal government come to my door or anyone elses and said "We want to help you get your road paved" or any other helpful act, and then asked me for my help by filling out a form to prove the necessity? I started my business for 75 cents. Seemed like they try to collect more info than they need but will give in if you call them on their crime. Follow your happiness and I promise the universe will be there for you: subtle, slow, obvious or quick it will respond to your emotions. We had a census worker come to our door who started asking personal questions, until my hubby finally said that's enough. Is there anything I can do about this? ", Where did this information come from and why is it on the news? I am sickened by all of it. Let them in and then fart really loud. I don't recall giving my cell phone out on the first census nor my customer number at my work, but she has called both. !Now I have to pay for temp workers who have my private info to sell overseas maybe???? She was asking the questions again and I told her that I already filled out the form so there is no reason for me to fill it out again. They're people just like you are, Americans just like you are. How about the number of cars that are normally in your driveway if everyone is home? Title 13 section 141, subsections (a) and (d) authorize surveys. Explain that their responses will constitute consent to display the video online. Our world leaders are puppets, and the puppet master is greed. Fiscal Year 2024 Letter to OMB Director Shalanda Young encouraging the Administration to prioritize funding for the U.S. Census Bureau and 2030 Census in its FY 2024 Who knows what other "enemy" nations also have it. The government is collecting information such as how many rooms we have in our houses, how many acres of land, what time do we leave for work, etc. This was way out of line and uncalled for! [4] The number of seats in the House of Representatives was established by Congress at 435 in 1911 and capped at that amount by Congress in 1929, although the number was temporarily increased to 437 in 1959 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union. Some hypothesize that the Census Bureau will not take legal action against, or pursue fines for, noncompliance with the ACS because doing so would likely attract much negative media attention. Those of you who are interested just might try at least the internet to find out what this is all about. Why am I being asked for my name? A: If you receive notice that you have been targeted to respond to the ACS and you desire to assert your right of privacy, you can voice those objections and your intent not to respond to the ACS by writing a letter to the Census Bureau. We need to stick up for our rights. My paper shredder has been complaining of hunger, so I'm going to feed the "survey" to it when I receive it in the mail next week. The government has no right to know this personal information and that she could leave. I vote, and if the politicians do not honor their promises when they get into office, I'm sure Uncle Sam couldn't care less about what my area needs either. Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; Pinterest; Flickr; YouTube; LinkedIn; City Services. Next, they sent a real ***** who first harassed my child after being told that I was out of town (I was), then tried to enter our residence (my son was sitting there watching as the doorknob turned). So I did not send it back. Not to mention that this information in the wrong hands can cause identity theft. As us Cajuns say: Hell froze over when the Saints won the Super Bowl last season. Using new satellite data analysis techniques, researchers found that, since 2000, summer wildfires have expanded in boreal forests, which wrap around the northernmost parts of the Earth. We will then see them online. However, we will make it quite clear we will accept the risk and continue to take this stand. I had the misfortune of getting an ACS survey a few years ago. Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). We do not have to fear picking up the phone or answering our door. What the hell are you mad about? I feel like that in itself is an invasion of my privacy. Alternatively, those who returned the survey partially completed and communicated with the Census Bureau agents generally received more contacts. [22] For 12 of those categories, the information is used to assist private corporations. Why don't you post the number in your family, their names, ethnic profile, give us your address and then, we will consider giving merit to your post. She said they don't do that. I don't even tell my grown kids this much information. I assume she was a supervisor. They have to get past the doorman first. I threw them off my property. This workshop will demonstrate through hands-on exercises on how to access data using the Census Bureau tools for short and long-term Community planning. American Community Survey Welcome! 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) Census region x Metro/Non-metro 2020 CPS March Supplement Volunteerism 2021 American Trends Panel Annual Profile Survey/2019 CPS Volunteering & Civic Life Supplement . It is just such a sick country now. Life lived in paranoia and bitterness is not worth living. These vermin can pound sand. what the hell??? I asked who he was and he attempted to open the screen door. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Mansoura University institutional research board with approval number: R.22.03.1639. I personally do not want to answer because it's just a habit but if they did catch me off-guard, I would probably give them an answer of some sort (like I am a boyfriend who is watching my girlfriend's house while she's away with the peace corps for six months and that I already answered the census for my home a few blocks away). But seriously, It's not about conspiracy theories. Maybe you'll get a new hospital! Subscribe to our newsletter and learn something new every day. I told her it would be easier for all of us if she did so. Many people I know who voted for this man are now regretting it. What? I was hot and told her I have her number and I will call when I'm ready. [10] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/JourneytoWork.pdf. The U.S. Census Bureau is suspending efforts to create neighborhood-level statistics on the citizenship and age of residents, using 2020 census data, in the latest rollback of Trump administration. Person 30. They came to my door at all hours. Pericles, 460BC. The small, everyday, humdrum, quietly approved bills they do each day are where the danger lies and more attention should be paid to those. New to ClassAction.org? And it is supposed to be maintained private otherwise the census worker can go to prison or be fined or both. So, do I really need to fill this out, or can I use it to line my bird cage? The American Community Survey releases new data every year, in the form of estimates, in a variety of tables, tools, and analytical reports. We need to take a stand and not put up with all the socialist crap the government wants us to do. The Supreme Court upheld that against Bill Clinton's attempt to implement statistical sampling for the 2000 census. The survey taker shows up at the residence unannounced to request that the resident comply with the survey or otherwise face potential legal repercussions. Beyond that, please cease and desist all further efforts to gather personal and private information about the members of my household, it will not be provided. On the back of the ACS form it states: "Respondents are not required to respond to any information collection unless it displays a valid approval number from the Office of Management and Budget.". As a current enumerator I'd like to say thanks to the great majority of people who have courteously answered census questions. What I want to know for sure is: Can they make, force, and punish you for not filling out this thing? After reading the notes on this site, I decided - ACSdestination, shredder. good thing inflation is under control and gas prices are not skyrocketing for no reason, and unemployment figures are under control, that they have nothing better to do than harass an honest hardworking taxpayer. Yes we find the government annoying, but we could turn things around to our advantage and make things fun. But in this day and age, do you really believe by not taking the census that your personal information is more thoroughly protected? The census cannot ask or get your social security number in any way and you can supply any name you want. Yet, he also said that the American Community Survey is continuing. At that point I stepped in and said goodbye. The census person came back by a week later. It gives a little glimmer of hope for this country. This crap has been going on for almost a month now! AND ACTING AS COLLECTION AGENT. This also happened the last time. I told him that on the advice of my attorney I had shredded the form. According to the letter, responses to the "American Community Survey" help communities to decide where important services are needed, including improving roads and reducing traffic, building. It is community based, and an effort to get away from the biased media to get the truth from people in the area it applies. My blood pressure is through the roof right now after reading this survey. Isn't this harassment? Copyright 2023 The Rutherford Institute. I have no idea about the ACS (or any of their personal questions). The Census Bureau would have to refer a case to the Dept of Justice, they have no power of their own. Have received two of the ACS forms, both went into the garbage. The yahoos on the Hill will continue to usurp our rights. The reality appears to be that recipients can refuse to comply. I am a law abiding American citizen, tax payer (working 2 jobs) and a registered voter, not a criminal or bum or illegal immigrant living off the tax payers. "Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who who have the courage to defend it." Last night (Monday) he showed up at 7:30. We are entitled to "Quiet Enjoyment" of our homes. A: Those who do not answer the ACS risk repeated overturesby mail, by phone and in personfrom Census Bureau employees seeking to compel a response. We change so quickly now compared to 40-50 years ago. I am becoming more and more ashamed I fought for this newly founded socialist government. Are we going to let this happen? Q: Are you required by law to fully complete the American Community Survey? Don't fill out anything if you don't want the public to know some of your private information. "; "How many times a day do you fantasize about blowing up a federal building? He had to come through a closed gate. what is this country coming to? Oh wait, we have a socialist leader now. I work for one of the phone centers for the Census Bureau. and they are the ones who should be paying extra taxes for that. As a retired LEO, state law keeps all my info private, unless court ordered. After four or five visits with three notices taped to the door over two weeks, they seem to have given up. My question is: "Doesn't our government have enough information on us from our mandatory tax returns?" Any thoughts? One week later, we got two more phone calls in one night because I hung up on the caller and he called back 20 minutes later. Can I file a harassment claim somewhere? Finally, she asked me if I was refusing to answer the questions and if I wanted her to put that down. Hard to believe they did not receive it or they lost it. Does anyone know? Now whenever we come home, Ms. Nosy Neighbor calls a different census worker who hurries over and tries to get us to answer the door. I will not answer the questions on the American Community Survey and we all have the right and the duty to stand up against this intrusion. i am not in their rat race, and i do not answer to their color coded political designations. thanks for answering back with any helpful info. Although I suspect it's really only one or two of you. I was not in a hurry since I already had done this once. I am a prisoner in my own home. The state police will show up and *escort* them off your property. [12] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/Fertility.pdf. I told her actually it's not. If they want more personal financial information, then I suggest they get it from the IRS. Let's get them to spread the word. Two days later, I was standing on my porch. Have to love how the government pays people to harass you. I returned the question booklet as instructed. Lock and Load. they started harassing my boyfriend and some how i got thrown into it because i live here. so earlier before i got home he called me and told me his story of her showing up. Well, I will just have to wait for the "or else" because I will not be a robot for this government, asking when I go to work or who are all the females in my house with ages and names. If Americans wish to be free of judicial tyranny, they must at least develop basic knowledge of the judicial role in our republican government. [11] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/Computer.pdf. I have written both my senators, Warner and Webb of Virginia, and stated my refusal to comply with the ACS. Happy evading! When he did, the employee asked him to allow her into his home. During the past year and especially with the current administration in D.C., I am so angry and distrustful of our government. No, they aren't good people just trying to make a living as some might say. I'm sorry you feel the need to spread such fear and lies. With identity theft on the rise, many are concerned. ), vacated sub nom. The second time I got a call, I followed the recommendation of a fellow patriot. This all happened while I was watching from my porch. He handed me the form which I took and threw in the fireplace, in his view, while he said they'll send more people out. Read the Constitution. my wife and I pay our taxes and feel if that's not enough for our government, then "Too bad Charlie". 5.6K views 5 years ago The Wild Life #53 FULL EPISODE: Have you ever heard of the U.S. Census Bureau's "American Community Survey"? Q: Is this an unconstitutional invasion of privacy? I've been harassed by phone at night and Sundays. We had mailed the form back the day after we received it. Well the federal government is functioning way beyond its legal powers and I will not feed that machine. I hollered at the door that "I'm a crippled senior and DO NOT open my door unless its my kids". she yelled through the door announcing her name & bla bla "census, have some questions for you"..I'll just leave my card & you can call me next week!". We will ask the rep to make it clear what will happen if we don't answer the survey, then verbally accept the consequences. Happy Holidays. You can find the ACS forms on the Census web site under ACS. And as to the types of questions that can be asked, the only limit is that they can't be of a religious nature. I noticed that if I left the note on the door, they would sometimes pull up, then just drive off. The Census Bureau insists that personal information contained in these devices was protected by passwords and other security measures. I've received two of these obscene forms and I do not to answer any of the questions printed thereon. At what location did this person work last week? PLEASE let's get them back once and for all! Can anyone please tell me if I am obligated to answer these questions. On the first occasion, the guy produced a badge and said he would like to come in and talk to me. I will pay the fine if that is what it takes. Just had our 10th home visit from census people! Anytime you give out information, you can bet it gets compromised. If I received the ACS survey in the mail, I would probably just put down the number of people in my household, but there is nothing on the 10 question survey that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can't find out on the internet quite easily. I have one final question for anyone who thinks this is just an overreaction to a few census questions: If George Bush and Dick Cheney were sitting in the White House, and Halliburton was storing the data, would you still feel the same way? I guess we'll just wait and see. They have done a great job keeping businesses from behaving unethically, unsafely, and preventing them from attaining wealth at the cost of human life - whether from unfair wages and industrial practices or from the mass-physiological effects (brainwashing) of citizens from the huge-budget video/audio buy-buy-buy television addiction machine, or from the shortening of each human life and the human race entirely that is the natural result of reallocating, changing, destroying natural resources to produce worthless tidbits of crap (no matter how "convenient or interesting or entertaining it may seem in the end it is crap and it won't make you happy or more lovable or life more simple or whatever their marketing department's angle is -- it is just crap that is killing all of us and wasting all those workers' lives). I am being harassed and threatened. They do go to your neighbors and landlord if you are a renter, and they do try to threaten and intimidate you by saying that if you don't answer then someone will return and will have the police with them, so yeah, keep on believing that it's all just a few harmless questions. I told him that was correct. Unbelievable that she is now spying on us. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses. View All 26 Products. Well, it's just arrived in the form of a mail packet that asks volumes of personal, none of your business information. As a note, we live in a small, rural town so that may make a difference in whether it's worth the effort for them to continue demanding the information. A week later, the same worker showed up and said it was my last chance or I could be fined and possibly jailed. The woman was carrying a clip board. FORM. The majority of the survey questions were drawn from published surveys [13, 20, 21]. There are even amendments to the amendments. I suspect the caller will hang up and take you off the list. They want me to call an 800 number to give them my personal info. When I said I would not be probed by his questions from the government and continued by saying that I meant no disrespect to him; however, I hate what the government is trying to do to us he responded. Although Mark xxxxxxx, the field representative, was professional, thorough and pleasant enough, Ive requested the Bureau cease these harassing efforts a second time during the phone call after he visited my home. Don't know if it's the "bureau" calling or not, but I'm ready for them. The other info that the ACS wants can be obtained from other Departments. Now let me get my cell phone fully charged and ready for the doorbell to ring. And you all sound sober and mature, not the lunatic fringe at all. Too late I read the comments about this article and I got a phone call from the ACS. . I was just contacted by a representative for the Census Bureau at my home and asked to answer his questions. United we stand divided we fall. this person got in the building somehow! If they are "anonymous" why do they need my name, telephone number and race? As one responder put it, if you only want to know the number of people, then what does race have to do with it? Asking for federal money or federal representation is a huge mistake. And finally, to the person who looked up the Census rep's name then mentioned her husband had called and wanted her to stop at the store so she looked at him in shock? I don't see what the big deal is. The Census Project works continuously to educate Congress about the critical importance of adequate yearly funding for 2020 Census planning and operations and for the American Community Survey. They haven't gone so far as to threaten, but I can sense that their tone is getting more firm. I would like to inform all participants that your lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session of today's call. The consumers argue in the complaint that although the defendants claim to have statutory authority to compel citizens to answer the survey, the authorization to collect information does not equate to the power to compel the production of information, especially when such information is not required for the ten-year Census. Matthew J. Holian, "Data and the American Dream: Contemporary Social Controversies and the American Community Survey" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021) Awards and Nominations. Unfortunately it does not state that the number of people is the only thing allowed to be collected by the census. It's just like a bunch of whiners. I refused to tell them financial info or how much I pay on a power bill. They are so proud to be counted among the blessed. To posters 190 and 191: Thank you for your input and advice. I included a note with the returned survey stating that I would continue to refuse to answer these additional questions as a matter of principle, and I requested that no phone calls or visits to my home be made by your agency. I'm sick of this. How many is all they need to know. "; "What is your favorite color on Thursday afternoons between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.? On 22 September 2006, the American Broadcast Company (ABC) reported that, since 2003, the Census Bureau lost or reported stolen over 200 laptops and numerous handheld and portable data devices used by survey collectors.