Tuesday, May. 11, 2010
Don’t fear the Census
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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Last week at the Blue Springs City Council meeting, I had the rare opportunity to hear – along with our elected officials – someone that was truly worried about a worker from the Census Bureau visiting her home.
This resident kept pointing to “government intrusion” when discussing the Census. According to her, a particular Census worker did not respect her right to not participate in the nationwide counting of residents. She even accused the worker of trying to open her door and let herself into the home.
None of us were there to see if this trespassing took place or not.
And while this citizen should feel safe in her own home, I would doubt the Blue Springs Police Department has the time and manpower to respond to every Census worker walking the town now doing their jobs.
Of course, as Mayor Carson Ross wisely pointed out, if this resident had simply sent the card in to be counted, the worker would have never been at her door in the first place.
The every-decade Census count is vital to our cities. There is no disputing that.
Census counts have a direct affect on federal dollars and on our representation on the governmental level. Residents claiming to not have the time or energy to not answer a 10-question form probably need to turn off the TV for a minute, grab a pen and spend 45 seconds that will help your community.
The questions are so effortless and uncomplicated, even the most anti-government person can fill it out and not feel like they have given away top-secret information.
For those that have not filled out the Census yet, you can expect a knock at your door from a Census worker soon. Whether you choose to speak to this person is entirely up to you. And, the great thing is, that is your right as an American.
But remember that these people are Americans too. They are doing a job that not a lot of people want to do and have gone through extensive training to try and make this process as painless as possible.
Yes, they will ask those 10 questions, including, how many people live in this house? What are their birthdays? Does anyone else, on occasion, live at this address?
There are so many families with college-aged kids and also parents caring for their own parents that it is increasingly difficult to get a true and accurate count of the number of people that live in our community.
If there were some sinister plan behind the Census, I’m sure it would have been revealed by now.
But really, people, we’re just counting.
It’s something we learned to do in kindergarten.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@bluespringsjournal.com.
