Stupid Census Commercial

I heard the same radio commercial about three times in one hour, pushing the 2010 census. It has a homey, folksy guy explaining how in his community they had 100 kids in the school and 5 teachers and everything was fine. BUT, if the community grew, and the number of kids went up too much, there wouldn't be enough teachers, space, books, money, patience, etc. The meat of the argument is then brought out, that without the census, we wouldn't know how much things had grown, and how money needed to be apportioned.

BULLSHIT.

Are you that stupid that you need a federal census to figure out how many people live in your town? I'd think that all the people moving in might have been noticed by somebody. Second, the census occurs every 10 years. If growth started 10 years ago, the census is going to be a little late in catching up to it, and we return to my original thesis, the people who live in your town should have noticed this already. Finally, apportioning money. The people in your town make money and pay taxes (at least some of them do). If your town is growing and attracting new people, it's either because there are lot of jobs there, or it's a refugee camp. If it's economic growth, the money is already there to pay teachers, buy books, and build buildings. That's how schools usually operate, on the local level, with money collected and spent by the local government that can see, first-hand, what's going on.

I said it before, the CONSTITUTIONAL basis for the census is to apportion representatives and direct taxes, and since the 16th amendment eliminated the direct tax issue, there is only one valid reason for the federal government to do a head count, and only a head count. The end.

Census ethnicity box

So, the forms for the 2010 U.S. Census are out, and there has been some upset over the "race" section of the form. The first few choices are "White", "Black, African Am., or Negro", and "American Indian or Alaska Native", and there's a space to put a tribal affiliation. The word Negro is what's causing the problems. The defense is, some people still identify themselves as that, so that option should be there.

My problem is, the whole "race" section is flawed. White or Black/Afr Am/Negros get only those options. American Indians get to give a tribe. Below that, are checkboxes for: Asian Indian, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, and more. So, a first generation German immigrant has to be "White", a first generation Nigerian immigrant has to be "Black", but a fifth-generation Chinese American gets to be Chinese. If the question about race is going to be asked, everyone should get to fill in the box with whatever they want.

Then, there's the actual legal purpose of the census. According to the US CONSTITUTION (remember it?), Section 2, Clause 3:

"Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (See Note 2) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."

The only race issue there was if you're an Indian who doesn't pay taxes, or an "other Person", which was code for slave. Since we don't have "other Persons" anymore, and I believe the American Indians are treated like taxpaying human beings (most of the time), this clause essentially says:

"For the purposes of apportioning representative and direct taxes, the U.S. Government will count everyone, every 10 years."

RACE DOESN'T MATTER. INCOME DOESN'T MATTER. WHAT KIND OF HOUSE YOU LIVE IN OR CAR YOU DRIVE DOESN'T MATTER. HOW MANY TOILETS YOU HAVE DOESN'T MATTER.

The only right the government has is to ask you if you exist. Don't like the race section? DON'T ANSWER IT. Don't like any of the other stuff? Don't answer. It's none of anybody's damn business anyway.

If all men are created equal and we all have equal protection under the law, then we should all be counted as people, and congressional districts should be drawn to include the proper number of people, with the smallest possible perimeter. Representatives are for ALL the people who live inside that IMAGINARY LINE, not just the black, white, natives, Filipinos, or anything else.

Tell the census bureau how many people live there, and then tell them to take a flying leap. And remember, an official census taker will NEVER ask to come inside your house, EVER. And, find the appropriate number for your area to verify that the person at the door is official: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/contact/index.php