The Census Bureau's Unconstitutional Threats

These intrusive questionnaires from the Census Bureau are back in the news.

From WorldNetDaily:

As WND has reported, the U.S. Census Bureau switched from the surveys once every 10 years, called for in the U.S. Constitution, to annual surveys sent to three million households, to keep the government's data more up-to-date.

The issue arises periodically about the invasion into a family's privacy by the questions, including:


- Does this house, apartment, or mobile home have COMPLETE plumbing facilities; that is, 1) hot and cold piped water, 2) a flush toilet, and 3) a bathtub or shower?

- At any time DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, did anyone in this household receive food stamps? If so, how much?

- Do you have a mortgage and if so, how much is it?

- Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following: learning, dressing, bathing or getting around?

- Has this person given birth in the last year?

- What time did this person go to work?

- How much did this person make in salaries? Interest? Retirement?

Besides being nosy, intrusive and privacy-violating, do you know what they use this information for? Coming up with more ways to give your tax dollars to somebody else. It's used for statistical analysis when they get a bright idea for a new social program, or want to expand an existing one.

The government claims my wife and I have the "privacy" to kill our unborn child if we want, but not privacy regarding how many bathrooms we have or what time I go to work.

Remember the last time they did the census? I was one of the lucky ones picked to fill out one of these huge, intrusive surveys. I kept ignoring their repeated mailings for a while. Finally I printed off a bunch of stuff that showed I was not required by the U.S. Constitution to answer their Big Brother questions, including quotes from a number of officials such as Senator Trent Lott telling people not to bother.

They never bothered me again after I sent them this package of material.