Once a decade the US government conducts a census to determine how many representatives each state can send to Congress. The representation is regardless whether a person is a man or a woman, white or black, young or old. A few questions on the 2010 Census are concerning to me:
Question #2 asks us to specify what type of additional people stayed in our homes, whether they were live-in baby sitters, roommates, adult children, or foster children. What is the purpose of knowing these answers? Should the representation in Congress not include any of these groups?
Question #3 asks whether we rent, own or squat in the home we live in. So does our financial standing change our representation in Congress?
Question #4 directly asks for our phone number in case the Feds don’t understand the numbers in the boxes they provided for us. They already have our postal address so I’m surprised they don’t ask for our Facebook profiles as well.
Question #5 wants my name. What if my name is Abdul Goldstein? Do I get more or less representation?
Question #6 wants to know my gender? Didn’t the 19th Amendment make this irrelevant?
Question #7 wants my age. I guess if I was the govt I would want to know how much money to print up to “fund” No Child Left Behind and how much for Social Security.
Question #8 asks about my “Hispanic origin” clarifying that “For this census, Hispanic origins are not races.” My jaw dropped when I saw this question. Between question #2 and this one, why not just ask us how many illegal immigrants live in our home?
Question #9 now wants my race. Funny how I have always considered myself “American” but I think they really want me to fill the box labeled “Asian Indian” even though I was born and raised in VA. Wonder what Tiger Woods has to put here.
Question #10 wants to know if I “sometimes live” in jail or a or a seasonal residence. I wonder if they want my hotel receipts as well.
Perhaps the 2020 census will ask us for our income, investments, blood type, medical history, how many guns I own and sexual orientation. Guess I will have to wait another 10 years to find out.
