A while back, Brian Trout wrote:
Before we get too far away from it, thought I'd share a little of what I found
out about the census....
[clipped lotsa stuff....]
> Does anyone know, am I legally obligated to just roll over and give up every
> detail of my existence to these people? I know on the cover letter is
> reminds us that "...Title 13 of the United States Code... REQUIRES that we
> answer these questions... Anybody know what Title 13 actually says
Umm...yeah. Well, you don't want the whole shebang (ten chapters with numerous
subchapters, sections and subsections), but here are some relevant citations:
United States Code TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS
Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers
(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully
neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other
authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or
agency thereof acting under the instructions of the
Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge,
any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him
in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II,
IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to
himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm
or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall
be fined not more than $100.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this
section, and under the conditions or circumstances
described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false,
shall be fined not more than $500.
[snip]
> Look out for the next Census!! They'll probably want to know .... what church
> you attend, ....
Well, although there is a decentennial survey of religious organizations,
there's one more paragraph to the above Section 221 that I held back.....
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be
compelled to disclose information relative to his religious
beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
So, you shouldn't have to answer questions about which church or which belief.
> how often you have sex (and with who[m]),
You know, when grocery check-out line mags plaster their covers with the likes
of "What Every Guy Wants His Girl To Know About What He Enjoys In Bed" and the
like, I'm not too shocked when the government comes around seeking to gauge the
population's prurient quotient.
But, hey! If you don't wanna answer the questions, just leave everything blank
and send in your $100 check or money order. No stamp required! :-) I suspect
that this won't qualify as a tax-deductible political donation although one
wonders how far one might push it.......
FTR: We got the shortie....my wife had it filled out before I got home from
work. Considering she doesn't get much of a break, what with raising two
toddlers, it must not have been terribly time-consuming. Had I been the one to
receive it, I might have fed it to the shredder. If someone came around asking
what happened to it, I'd just point at the mail truck and say, in very broken
English, "They lose all of the important stuff....but the junk always manages to
make it through. Survey that!"
*I got my citations from the FedLaw website - http://www.legal.gsa.gov/
--
Ron Torrella, RPT
Ypsilanti, MI
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