Census

I received a letter from the United States Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, notifying me that I would soon receive a questionnaire in the mail for a "very important national survey, the American Community Survey." Sure enough, the survey arrived a week later. Interestingly, it was not I who was selected to fill out this survey, it was my reisdence. The government selected this address as an important location, though to find out why or how they came to that decision would take some sleuthing that I don't have the energy to perform. I did, however, find the time to complete the survey and I thought I would share with you some things I found, especially after the graffiti letter I received a few weeks ago.

In addition to the survey itself, which was a multi-page, rectangular document with high quality graphics, the envelope included "Your Guide for The American Community Survey" and a brochure with answers to frequently asked questions. Sample:

Q. Do I have to answer the questions on the American Community Survey?
A. Yes, you response to this survey is required by law (Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193). Title 13, as changed by Title 18, imposes a penalty for not responding. The survey is approved by the Office of Management and Budget. We estimate this survey will take about 38 minutes to complete.

My personal time was 12 minutes. I'm not saying that I'm special. With only one person in a household I didn't have to engage in the abundant redundancies included in the fold-out, multi-page doc. It is important to notice that the U.S. Census Bureau is included with the Department of Commerce. Here is an example of the government economizing, i.e. ordering and tracking, its people by quantifying life experience. They collect numbers and colate them in a big building in Washington, and then everybody can know how many people live and work in Minneapolis, what the average income is for households of 1, 2, or 3 people, etc. The instruction booklet had its own particular brand of absurdity, but I won't go into that here.