How Are We Feeling About the Census?

by Latoya Peterson

A few weeks ago, Boyfriend and I traveled to Harlem to check out Van Hunt in concert. After a night of too-strong cocktails and screaming out the lyrics to the songs, we walked out of the show – only to be handed a mug and a packet, encouraging participation in the United States 2010 Census. The girl in front of us grabbed a mug, but on the way down the stairs said “Thanks for the free cup, but you won’t be hearing from me, Mr. Government Man!” We cracked up.

Over the past few weeks, special interest organizations have been pushing the full court press about standing up to be counted for the Census – and for good reason. Ensuring the actual headcount (normally determined through census workers and paper ballots) is as complete as it can be is vital to government:

Considering the herculean task of counting, within a few months, every person living in the United States, a 1 percent error rate seems reasonable. But the actual count, not the estimate, is what the government goes by when it distributes money and determines election districts for the next 10 years.

And when the federal government, these days, counts money by the trillions, 1 percent is a lot.

In all, the federal government doled out $447 billion in 2008 that was tied in some measure to the census, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Medicaid counts for 58 percent of money distributed based on population, with transportation, such as roadwork, making up 10 percent more, according to the Brookings study.

The think-tank and research institute estimates the 2010 Census will be the basis for the distribution of nearly $5 trillion in federal money to state and local governments over the next decade.

“The basic, overall count is the foundation for so many funding formulas,” Childers said. “It’s just amazing how often that number appears.”

The Maynard Institute also explains what is politically on the line:

You said the census is about power and money. What does that mean?

Power: The 10-year Census redraws the political map for the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. Northeast and Midwest states have been losing congressional seats while states in the South and West have continued to gain them. This is a huge shift in power that Democrats and Republicans understand. That’s why it was so important for Barack Obama and the Democrats to finally break the Republican hold on the South in 2008. Obama won Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

Money: Census data are used to make decisions about which community services to provide, such as where to build or close schools, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.

And, unfortunately, the census is often one of the only sources of information on POC demographics. The Women of Color and Wealth report often had to default to the Census numbers to get an accurate picture of women of color and their financial state, since so little data was available in other areas. So why are so many of us reluctant to participate? The comments to a recent article on Clutch Magazine reveals some of the more common attitudes about the Census. Zettler Clay, the author of the article, notes:

There is nothing in the Census form that asks about citizenship status, said the U.S. Department of Commerce Regional Director Fernando Armstrong. So illegal immigrants have nothing to worry about.

Red flag.

If that’s the case, then is the government willing to shell out tax dollars to those who may not be U.S. citizens? Or are they ready to use this information to perform a simple audit to find out how many Hispanics are here illegally versus those registered? Once that information is handy, what will the government do with it?

Clay continues:

We, the U.S. citizens, have been bound to a contract with the government since birth. This is an unofficial-official contract that states that we must pay taxes, be a civic asset and know the law. In return, the government will provide us with services (protection, education, medical care), allow us the rights of the land and to a fair trial (habeas corpus).

But everyday there are breaches of this contract in action. Some examples:

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