Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel
Friday, September 10, 2010
Mainers encouraged
to complete census forms
The Associated Press
AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci is encouraging Mainers to complete and mail back their U.S. Census forms, saying that doing so is critical for government to work effectively.
The governor says it takes 10 minutes to answer 10 questions.
Responses to the census form should include everyone living at an address as of Census Day, April 1, 2010, the official day of the population count. It is not necessary to wait until April 1 to return the form, however. Forms should be returned as soon as possible.
Mailing back a form ensures an accurate count and lowers the cost of the 2010 Census by reducing the number of census workers who must go door-to-door.
For more information, visit 2010census.gov.
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32 COMMENTS
Jase said...
And because Baldy is encouraging it, I'm not doing it.
March 9, 2010 at 10:54 AM Report abuse
SMC said...
that's just ignorant
March 9, 2010 at 10:58 AM Report abuse
Bacon said...
I will answer some of the questions on the form, but I will not answer all of them. For example, the fed's have no reason to need my phone number, and if they do, they can look in the book like everyone else.
March 9, 2010 at 10:58 AM Report abuse
Jarody said...
I encourage all Mainers to fill out only what is Constitutionally required. The number of people in your residence. My single answer with be 1. There is no need to fill anything else out on that form.
March 9, 2010 at 11:32 AM Report abuse
Retiree said...
Iwe will only tell them how many live in the residence.Don't give out ss# or phone# I won't get any free stuff from the State anyway. After the letter I got in the mail from them it says it helps getting money for the State of Maine. This money will then go to wellfare dept. NO Thanks.
March 9, 2010 at 11:35 AM Report abuse
Pilllory said...
Jarody...you beat me to it.
March 9, 2010 at 11:57 AM Report abuse
Hipupchuck said...
Why don't they use a web site to collect the information?
March 9, 2010 at 12:05 PM Report abuse
GURRY70 said...
"Gov. John Baldacci is encouraging Mainers to complete and mail back their U.S. Census forms, saying that doing so is critical for government to work effectively." The government will NOW "work effectively" by people filling out a census form?? Constitionally required answer will be all they get.
March 9, 2010 at 12:10 PM Report abuse
weatherfreak said...
If you don't fill out the form, then they may send a census worker out to your house - which apparently enrages people.
March 9, 2010 at 12:38 PM Report abuse
Pit said...
It is the law and has been since the founding fathers. Simple as that.
March 9, 2010 at 1:33 PM Report abuse
Jack said...
Bacon: You beat me to it.I will answer any question that would be apparent to someone if they came to my door.Phone number is unlisted and none of your beeswax.
March 9, 2010 at 1:38 PM Report abuse
null said...
The law requires only #persons in domain and everyone's ages..That's it! There has never been any citizen prosecuted by the feds for not providing info..However they are using gps tracking now as part of census locations of households..Not good!
March 9, 2010 at 1:57 PM Report abuse
Really said...
I love the commercial that says that "without the Census we wouldn't know how many teachers to hire...." So numbers collected in 2010, will tell me how many teachers I need in 2019?...Kids start school at age 5... I guess with the census we can now predict when pregancy will occur....
March 9, 2010 at 2:03 PM Report abuse
DD said...
they hand del mine to my house because they gov don't trust there own post offices to do the del. I wonder who I am to send the bill to for filling this out any one know
March 9, 2010 at 2:36 PM Report abuse
BC said...
"...is critical for government to work effectively." "Government" and "effectively" are 2 words that contradict one another, and shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Yes, it's true that it's required by the Constitution to fill out the census form. However, keep in mind that the Constitution was written way before the electronic access that we now have ever even existed. If you have a bank account, a credit card or have ever filed a tax return, all of the information the Census needs is right there. If the census bureau wants my information, they can contact one of their fellow organizations, the IRS. Unless they lost it, all the information is there.
March 9, 2010 at 2:48 PM Report abuse
Joseph said...
Horsey, horsey people here. Look . . . everybody's getting a census form to fill out. There are 10 easy questions and if you don't want to include your telephone number than don't. But if you don't fill out the rest of the questions, a census worker WILL come to your door. This only happens once every 10 years, so why are so many people getting cranky about it?
March 9, 2010 at 3:42 PM Report abuse
Really said...
I think we have found a way to reduce unemployment, Don't fill out the form, or don't do all the questiosn.... That means a Census worker has to go out and ask the questions.... the more of us that don't do the form the more of us the more workers required...see the Census is useful it reduces unemployment
March 9, 2010 at 4:02 PM Report abuse
Kidatheart said...
I wonder how many of the whiners here fully support the Patriot Act... "Jack said... Bacon: You beat me to it.I will answer any question that would be apparent to someone if they came to my door.Phone number is unlisted and none of your beeswax."
March 9, 2010 at 4:06 PM Report abuse
MainelyJack said...
I will not answer anything on the form othwer than what the law requires. If they come to see me it will be a wasted trip. That's it. Plain and simple...and perfectly legal.
March 9, 2010 at 5:51 PM Report abuse
Swiftwaters said...
Article One, Section Two of the Constitution only asks how many people there are. They don't need to know if I have a mortgage (what's with that?) or my race etc. I just let them know how many souls live here. And if they visit, they'll get the same info, no more.
March 9, 2010 at 6:09 PM Report abuse
DasBoot said...
I won't be answering any questions.
March 9, 2010 at 6:11 PM Report abuse
freeyourmind said...
Joseph: the reason people are upset is because the census bureau has no right to the information they are asking for and the more freedom we give away the more they will take.
March 9, 2010 at 6:33 PM Report abuse
boofaloo said...
They get the number of people in the house, period. If they want to know about pets, I better be able to claim them on my taxes as dependents.
March 9, 2010 at 6:57 PM Report abuse
UofA said...
They can send all of the people they want, they still will not get any more questions answered. I could care less how many teachers somebody needs. My kids are in their 40s and don't need any teachers.
March 9, 2010 at 6:58 PM Report abuse
splarry said...
At the bottom of the letter I received, if you need help it is available in six languages. Is this America or what?
March 9, 2010 at 8:32 PM Report abuse
Do2nT said...
Thousands of census workers are already employed along our border specifically to go door-to-door to "ensure accuracy". Well, if accuracy is so important there, why not here. DO NOT MAIL IT IN - Go face to face with your goverment and make someone tell you why you have to provide your phone number or ethnic origin.
March 9, 2010 at 9:00 PM Report abuse
terry said...
i have not seen a form yet. how does everyone on here know that you are not required to answer all the questions? are you willing to risk anything by being your own lawyer about this?
March 9, 2010 at 11:59 PM Report abuse
jake007 said...
One would think with the info the gov already has ie:birth & death data,IRS filings which clearly include dependants & SS#'s, wefare(food stamp applications etc),they would have a more accurate count then this outdated method. I am sure in older times(pre-computer etc)it was the only effective way you could do it. Now it just seems like a tradition then a effective tool. Just a thought.
March 10, 2010 at 6:29 AM Report abuse
Bacon said...
My ethnic origin is American,, thats what I plan to write on the census form!
March 10, 2010 at 8:48 AM Report abuse
RedHatLady said...
When it comes to RACE we are all HUMAN!! Terry - read the constitution... only the number of people and ages are required. Why are people upset? The government uses the census information to re-map the districts for political reasons!
March 10, 2010 at 9:46 AM Report abuse
HesterPrynne said...
I have never seen so many paranoids in one place at one time. How totally strange.
March 10, 2010 at 12:41 PM Report abuse
Divinity said...
Hester, as we all know, just because people have paranoid thinking does not mean that some of their fears are not realistic. The Census workers I have met on the streets are consistently friendly and appear trustworthy. From what I know of some of the local Census Office management, I wouldn't trust them with my credit card at a check-out counter let alone with private and confidential information. Personally, I'll fill out and return the 2010 questionnaire by mail knowing that these untrustworthy individuals will not see it and assuming that they are local problems and not typical of the employees handling confidential census info at the national level. It's interesting that the local, low-level census management is drawn from the same population as those you are commenting on.
March 11, 2010 at 10:17 AM Report abuse