Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk 3/8/10: Census: A Little Too Personal

http://www.house.gov/paul
http://CampaignForLiberty.com

Last week Congress voted to encourage participation in the 2010 census. I voted No on this resolution for the simple, obvious reason that the census- like so many government programs- has grown far beyond what the framers of our Constitution intended. The invasive nature of the current census raises serious questions about how and why government will use the collected information. It also demonstrates how the federal bureaucracy consistently encourages citizens to think of themselves in terms of groups, rather than as individual Americans. The not so subtle implication is that each group, whether ethnic, religious, social, or geographic, should speak up and demand its fair share of federal largesse.

Article I, section 2 of the Constitution calls for an enumeration of citizens every ten years, for the purpose of apportioning congressional seats among the various states. In other words, the census should be nothing more than a headcount. It was never intended to serve as a vehicle for gathering personal information on citizens.

But our voracious federal government thrives on collecting information. In fact, to prepare for the 2010 census state employees recorded GPS coordinates for every front door in the United States so they could locate individuals with greater accuracy! Once duly located, individuals are asked detailed questions concerning their name, address, race, home ownership, and whether they periodically spend time in prison or a nursing home - just to name a few examples.

From a constitutional perspective, of course, the answer to each of these questions is: None of your business. But the bigger question is - why government is so intent on compiling this information in the first place?

The Census Bureau claims that collected information is not shared with any federal agency; but rather is kept under lock and key for 72 years. It also claims that no information provided to census takers can be used against you by the government.

However, these promises can and have been abused in the past. Census data has been used to locate men who had not registered for the draft. Census data also was used to find Japanese-Americans for internment camps during World War II. Furthermore, the IRS has applied census information to detect alleged tax evaders. Some local governments even have used census data to check for compliance with zoning regulations.

It is not hard to imagine that information compiled by the census could be used against people in the future, despite claims to the contrary and the best intentions of those currently in charge of the Census Bureau. The government can and does change its mind about these things, and people have a right to be skeptical about government promises.

Yet there are consequences for not submitting to the census and its intrusive questions. If the form is not mailed back in time, households will experience the pleasure of a visit by a government worker asking the questions in person. If the government still does not get the information it wants, it can issue a fine of up to $5000.

If the federal government really wants to increase compliance with the census, it should abide by the Constitution and limit its inquiry to one simple question: How many people live here?

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• personal
• constitution

[clintsgrl09]

vote  ron paul 2012

[tomanyasses]

the government already knows who and what you are by your taxes you file every year, unless your an illegal

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 Also, since the government made the Japanese internment camps legal during WWII I would suppose that you agree with that as well. Government knows what is best after all.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 Never said that I wanted my info given to banks either.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 Since when does the government have the right to know how many toilets I have in my house. As I said I will fill in the part that they do have the right to know which are my name, age, and basic facts about myself. How many bedrooms or toilets I have or what my gas and electric bill was last month. Not so much.

[amynmiami2]

@2411Hellokitty I'll answer your question..yes ...the government DOES have the right to tell you to fill out the Census ...why? ...because it has been the law since 1970. As a US citizen, you must fill out the form. And why was it made into law? ..because people stopped filling out the forms. Personally, I think you should be more concerned with banks having your information instead of the Census Bureau.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 I asked you a question which you are avoiding the answer to. But if you are not interested in answering my question then don't tell me that I have to do something just b/c it's something in life I need to do. I have an honest question which is why does this say that I have to answer these questions under rule of law?

[amynmiami2]

@2411Hellokitty LOL I really don't care what you do. I'm not in a debate with you. I added my 2 cents on this subject because I use Census information for research and I know how valuable it has been to tracking family lines. And that's all I have to say.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 I will fill out my name and age and that is all.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 Let's get this straight right now. The federal government has absolutely no right to demand under rule of law that I fill out a piece of paper. And if they already have the info then why do I need to give it to them again. And you have not addressed the real question which is whether or not I should be mandated by rule of law to fill out this document. Our government has a history of discrimination, internment camps, and persecution. They have to be kept in check.

[amynmiami2]

@2411Hellokitty There are things in this life we may not want to do, but that doesn't mean we can just say, "Well I don't want to, so I'm not going to do it" to everything in life. I don't have any problem providing this information to the government ..in fact they probably already have a lot of it anyway.

[2411Hellokitty]

@amynmiami2 But the real question is whether or not I should be forced by law to fill out this information even if I don't want to.