Taft 2010 Census
Jessica G. Miller -
February 5, 2010
Wednesday morning, Faith in Action hosted a media briefing on the 2010 Census with a variety of speakers including Senator Dean Florez and Taft Chevrolet's Devinder Bains.
The Census sets out every ten years to count every person in the United States to collect population information, help allocate funds for education, road repair and law enforcement, and to determine the number of seats each state gets in the House of Representatives, among other things. Faith in Action's event was designed to educate the media on the importance of the Census, from assuring the confidentiality of the questionnaire to combating the fear some have in filling it out.
All of the speakers stressed the importance of the Census and being counted. "It's all about counting," Bains said. "And realizing you need to be counted." Florez added that it is crucial that everyone be counted, including non-citizens of the United States because of the wide range the Census data reaches. With the data tied to the distribution of funds in each state, an accurate collection is essential so that cities and counties statewide can receive federal funds for community organizations such as school lunch programs, senior citizen centers, hospitals and more.
The speakers also expressed their concerns on the fear of the Census some have, a fear that is being exacerbated by anti-Census activist groups. For some it's a fear of an invasion of privacy and others, it's a fear of being deported from the country. Bains encouraged people to overcome the fear of the unknown and others continued to emphasize the confidentiality of the entire process
While the Census is a government run operation, they only want to get a precise
population count for the United States. The ten question form does not ask for any financial information such as credit card or banks numbers, nor do they ask for a driver's license or social security number. Florez guaranteed that the Census is completely confidential and others explained that they do not share the information attained from the questionnaire with anyone and that no personal questions are asked.
By mid-March, everyone should receive the Census questionnaire in the mail and some may even be visited by a Census taker at home. Venues where the Be Counted form can be picked up in person have yet to be established in Bakersfield. However, as soon as the locations are announced, The Independent will be the first to notify you. For more information on the Census, including job opportunities, visit http://2010.census.gov.
The Census sets out every ten years to count every person in the United States to collect population information, help allocate funds for education, road repair and law enforcement, and to determine the number of seats each state gets in the House of Representatives, among other things. Faith in Action's event was designed to educate the media on the importance of the Census, from assuring the confidentiality of the questionnaire to combating the fear some have in filling it out.
All of the speakers stressed the importance of the Census and being counted. "It's all about counting," Bains said. "And realizing you need to be counted." Florez added that it is crucial that everyone be counted, including non-citizens of the United States because of the wide range the Census data reaches. With the data tied to the distribution of funds in each state, an accurate collection is essential so that cities and counties statewide can receive federal funds for community organizations such as school lunch programs, senior citizen centers, hospitals and more.
The speakers also expressed their concerns on the fear of the Census some have, a fear that is being exacerbated by anti-Census activist groups. For some it's a fear of an invasion of privacy and others, it's a fear of being deported from the country. Bains encouraged people to overcome the fear of the unknown and others continued to emphasize the confidentiality of the entire process
While the Census is a government run operation, they only want to get a precise
population count for the United States. The ten question form does not ask for any financial information such as credit card or banks numbers, nor do they ask for a driver's license or social security number. Florez guaranteed that the Census is completely confidential and others explained that they do not share the information attained from the questionnaire with anyone and that no personal questions are asked.
By mid-March, everyone should receive the Census questionnaire in the mail and some may even be visited by a Census taker at home. Venues where the Be Counted form can be picked up in person have yet to be established in Bakersfield. However, as soon as the locations are announced, The Independent will be the first to notify you. For more information on the Census, including job opportunities, visit http://2010.census.gov.
