I like the idea of video taping them and guess I will charge up the old video camera. No reason to be rude to someone doing their job. Enough is enough and get real. Got this survey in the mail and opened it and started reading the questions and couldn't believe it I was so pissed off, it's really none of their business. And the survey demands that you violate the privacy of others by supplying the names and addresses of your friends, relatives and employer. They bring in all additional people running up monies needed for schools, social programs. He was very surprised. Seemed like they try to collect more info than they need but will give in if you call them on their crime. About one month later I received a phone call from a supervisor. [36] Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 498 (1983). I guarantee it will be a short and polite conversation and the last time they ever bother you! I had never heard of such a thing. Well it's now the middle of July and another census worker left her callback info on the door and has since started calling the number on the "for sale" sign at the property. Would I really be fined or imprisoned? People, what is so terrible about giving out the number of people who live in your household? He claims we need to answer the long form the ACS, etc. [24] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/Race.pdf. Perhaps act so insanely crazy they will be glad to leave. We don't have a home phone but I imagine the reps will get hold of our cell numbers? Thank you for creating this site and letting me know that I am not alone with receiving these and answering them. PDF SURVEY OF SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION, 2017 Locally or Privately-Operated The census taker left a note me a note today. By the time the phone calls started I had researched the ACS and knew what the game was and that the threat of fines was bogus. Optimize Your Non-Profit with Census Data. In the article above, it mentions the fine is per offense; but I did not read that anywhere in Title 13. They just look at you and say "Oh" and then walk away. TheAmerican Community Survey(ACS) helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. I have received two forms, and have no intention of responding. This is all bull. Get on with your life and answer the census. The less you say to them the faster they stop bothering you. what is this country coming to? Maybe you'll get a new hospital! No one from the Census has ever said they would come back with the sheriff - the sheriff would simply laugh at them if they ever asked. I am a retired airline captain and a former captain in the U.S.A.F. Homeownership rates, both overall and for white and Black Americans, have increased since 1994. After reading through the 28 pages of questions the second time (not 28 questions but 28 *pages* of them), I decided to do my research. Back in 2003 or so we also received a very long census questionnaire, with information I did not want to publish. I ripped it up and threw it away. The issuance of summary judgmenta judgment entered by the court in favor of one party over anothermarks the end of the road for the proposed class action lawsuit detailed here. OK, we all agree that our rights have been violated. Just had our 10th home visit from census people! Have to love how the government pays people to harass you. Their bosses are going like it even less. Too late I read the comments about this article and I got a phone call from the ACS. I am becoming more and more ashamed I fought for this newly founded socialist government. If anything, they could have made it easier for us all so we wouldn't have to be in debt for years just to get an education. I received this census (which to clarify is not the 10 year one, we filled that one out). When I saw the personal and invasive nature of recent Census, I was irate. Camp Lejeune residents now have the opportunity to claim compensation for harm suffered from contaminated water. Skip to main content. PDF Survey of Sexual Victimization, 2018: Locally or Privately-Operated As one post on this site said "bring it on.". Is the 'American Community Survey' Letter a Scam or Legit? Wrong. Got angry and physical with me (not a lot, just a shove as I tried to take back the Public Servant Questionnaire he wouldn't fill out.). It sure the hell is. The last thing the execs at the Census Bureau want to see is a video of one of their "enumerators" on YouTube, the Six O'clock News, or in Congress or a courtroom harassing and threatening a citizen/voter with a big fine or jail time if that person refuses to give out the personal details of his life to a perfect stranger. Personally, I want to know how many rental houses are in my town, I want all the representatives we deserve and I also really like looking at the 1920 and 1930 census to learn about my ancestors. according to the constitution it limits the government's ability to do anything but enumerate. We've tossed two surveys in the recycle bin. I do believe that the census information is mostly kept private though after a period of years or decades, it may become public. I actually worked for the Census in 1970. While the survey states that my address was selected at random for the survey, they have my address and unlisted telephone number, which they call regularly. I have therefore included both Article 1 section 2 of the US Constitution, and the US Supreme courts decisions in upholding the right to privacy. When we do the ACS on the phone, we do not ask for your SS #, we do not ask how many times you go to the bathroom. Since then I have been visited a few times by a nice Dept. Sign up for ClassAction.orgs free weekly newsletterhere. I filled it out. Unfortunately, the guy probably already knew the answers to some of the questions. Yes we find the government annoying, but we could turn things around to our advantage and make things fun. This ACS thing is quite detailed. I've been through it. I will not answer the questions on the ACS. Title OFFICIAL ADDRESS TELEPHONE Number City State ZIP Code FAX . Polite, firm, refusal. That this money is funding from the government, which makes it socialism. Bring it on ACB enumeratorsgo ahead, make my day!! OMB No. We already did our duty and answered the regular census. I shall be contacting my Senator and Congressman to voice my alarm and concern on another gross infringement of my Civil Liberties. Remember, they work for you, not the other way around. Is there anything I can do about this? Good-bye". I then slammed the door shut. This workshop will demonstrate through hands-on exercises on how to access data using the Census Bureau tools for short and long-term Community planning. You want me to trust the census with information that is very private? I left all of the other personal and private questions in the survey unanswered. Our world leaders are puppets, and the puppet master is greed. No one from the Census has ever asked for your social security number - perhaps someone *posing* as a Census Field Rep. did, but not an employee of the Census. 1 in 4 Black transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide in past God bless America and individual freedom! But I guess they probably figured that out, so decided to send it to only 2.6 percent of the population at a time. FCPS will be seeking input on the progress of this work via a survey for parents/caregivers and community members, and a feedback opportunity for staff. As a result of widespread concern and perhaps out of frustration with the survey, several websites have been set up to provide public forums for recipients of the ACS. This data is critical for government programs, policies, and decision-making. In an age when the government has significant technological resources at its disposal to not only carry out warrantless surveillance on American citizens but also to harvest and mine that data for its own dubious purposes, whether it be crime-mapping or profiling based on race or religion, the potential for abuse is grave. Don't fill it out. If people answer the survey maybe they will get the funding to have proper educational programs. The funny part is the local grocery store has this job post up. I received the ACS invasion of privacy letter on my door yesterday. "Isn't that enough?" I don't get mad about much but privacy is basic American. However, because the government has not brought a prosecution for a refusal to respond to the ACS, the question of a persons right to refuse has not yet been decided by a court. After the first couple of letters I received I started getting harassing phone calls from them. I have contacted all of my federal and state Representatives and it is time they passed a census privacy act. It features stories on various topics such as housing, employment and population. We just got the letter today, to expect the questionnaire. I never have, EVER owned an apartment or resort. A: The law requiring answers to the ACS also provides that a person who fails to answer shall be fined not more than $100.[32] The actual fine for a refusal to complete the ACS could be much greater because a failure to respond to certain ACS questions could be considered a separate offense subject to the $100 fine. I will not submit. What the hell was someone on Obama's team thinking about? [13] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/HomeHeatingFuel.pdf. Don't give in. [It does not appear that Census is proposing any changes to the ACS instrument.] A Census Bureau representative is quoted in this report as saying that the Bureau is really not in the business of prosecuting people who dont comply.[33] However, a refusal to answer the survey violates the letter of the law and a prosecution might be brought if the government decides to adopt a policy to do so. And you all sound sober and mature, not the lunatic fringe at all. I took his form and tossed it into the wood stove. Well, after many different phone calls, starting with the one on the census form, I still do not have an address to where to send the $100. Washington and California residents have filed a proposed class action in which they object to being asked to participate in the American Community Survey, which enquires about certain demographic details more specific than those central to the decennial Census. Got a phone call wanting the birth dates. However, I am sure I will get another one. The reason she looked at you in shock is because her husband didn't know she was there - she'd be fired on the spot and fined if she told her husband that. [7] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/Acreage_AgSales.pdf. Then came the second one,it followed the first. The American Community Survey sends around a questionnaire with 40 different items, asking such things as whether a person is receiving disability benefits (number 16) and how many vehicles. (The car had to pass my house to get to the neighbors.) But my favorite is if anyone in my house has difficulty concentrating, remembering things or making decisions, or difficulty dressing or bathing. While the long form was administered once a decade to a sample of households receiving the universal short-form census, the ACS is an ongoing survey of 3.5 million addresses annually (295,000 homes/month). Corrado Rizzi is the Senior Managing Editor of ClassAction.org. Not to mention when the people came to my door I informed them that they were trespassing without proper identification and subject to arrest. It is community based, and an effort to get away from the biased media to get the truth from people in the area it applies. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a national measure of customer satisfaction since 1994, trusted by US government and reflecting annual feedback from . Now I find out he has been to my place of employment looking for me. The $5,000.00 fines referenced in section 3571 are post conviction fines that only apply to an individual who has been charged and convicted of a crime defined in section 3559. I'm fed up with the ACS and all their nosing in my business. Tell me, if you were in charge of managing a company and you asked your staff for information so you could make an important decision and they could not answer any questions, how long do you think it would be before a major problem arose? He said he'd pass that along. They are discussing tax records with our neighbors? This survey is intrusive and i will not answer it! So far no challenges to our door visitors. Just open the door, answer their questions, and they will forget about you and your insignificant existence for another 10 years. No one has been fined for failure to comply, and no one ever will be. We have always taught him not to talk to people he does not know and never give out information. Go Obama Care. I wonder how many of those opposing census questions will annually volunteer much more private information and their personal wealth to a real evil unconstitutional organization - the IRS. Protect yourselves and your privacy, don't complete the form! Here's what it says online: The American Community Survey is a legitimate survey conducted by the CensusBureau. My wife and I were not home at the time the census work stopped by. Now I wish I hadn't answered her on the phone. The ACS asks dozens of questions on a wide variety of topics to gather information about the demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics of the population. All this and I live on an Army installation! (These facilities will be contacted directly for data on sexual victimization.) Then we find out she is our next-door neighbor! And if I were paranoid, I'd be accusing the census takers of taking my new baby's ss card that has still not arrived in my hands in four months! 2) Explaining that you will answer one personal question for every personal question they answer on camera. If my birth date is going to help somebody get elected or the state (district) gain an extra seat in the house, then get the expecting mothers' due dates for the year while at it. And the Justice Dept is not going to spend time on this. During such calls the survey taker reminds the resident that compliance with the ACS is mandatory. Today's call is being recorded. P.S. As said by Mr. Justice Field in Re Pacific Ry. Matthew J. Holian, "Data and the American Dream: Contemporary Social I demanded who he was for the third time and he said us census. You are not the property of business or governments you are continually the result of your feelings. Say no to everything. However, the ACS wants to know what time my husband and I leave for work each day, our employer's address, our work location address (if different from our employer's) and if we commute via car, carpool or public transportation. Some hypothesize that the Census Bureau will not take legal action against, or pursue fines for, noncompliance with the ACS because doing so would likely attract much negative media attention. A: The ACS is not sent to all households. [10] https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/qbyqfact/2016/JourneytoWork.pdf. Title 13 of the United States Code, however, requires that the Census Bureau keep this information confidential and subjects employees who violate this confidentiality requirement to a fine of up to $250,000 USD, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both. This has been going on for almost three months and has caused tremendous stress in our household. It felt so good. Yeah right! They aren't the enemy, so I don't act hostile towards them, but it still unnerves me how they got my cell phone number. Actual enumeration is required. If the federal government had been granted the general power to make inquires into the private affairs of the American people through the Census or a congressional mandated survey, then the Supreme Court could not have made this ruling. Beyond that, please cease and desist all further efforts to gather personal and private information about the members of my household, it will not be provided. Since then, they have called three or four times and stopped by multiple times.