The Constitution says, according to Article I Section 2, that an enumeration of the population shall be taken every 10 years to determine each state’s proportional number of representatives to the Federal Congress. In Article I Section 9, it specifically mentions the Census, but only in regard to capitations or other direct taxes.
All well and good. But nowhere in the Constitution does it mention the “American Community Survey”, which apparently is a thing, and for which a failure to file the thing when it appears in your mailbox results in some sort of vaguely-worded penalty that is supposedly set forth in Title 18 U.S.C Section 3571 and Section 3559, which amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221. However, none of those sections specifically state that failure to file the ACS will result in a particular penalty, so I guess the answer to “what happens if I tell the government to fuck off?” is “We’ll get really mad and maybe charge you with a criminal felony.” OK, a closer read of 13 USC 221 suggests that failure to file is a $100 fine, and willfully giving false information is a $500 fine. However, neither section cited of 18 USC seems to have anything to do with the non-criminal, non-felonious “crime” of telling the fedgov to get its nose out of my private business, so I’m not sure why either of those sections is cited. However, as I have mentioned many times on this blog, IANAL, I just try to make sense out of shit that makes no sense.
At any rate, here is something that I really wish the Trump Administration would deal with. The Census has grown like a malignant cancer with absolutely zero Constitutional mandate. The Census should be counting the number of people who live in the states — and NOTHING ELSE. It’s time to scale the Census Bureau back and outlaw this sort of nosenheimeritis.
In the covering letter, Mr. John H. Thompson, the Director of the US Census Bureau, tries to soothe us into compliance thusly:
This survey collectes critical information used to meet the needs of communities across the United States. For example, results from this survey are used to decide where new schools, hospitals, and fire stations are needed. This information also helps communities plan for the kinds of emergency situations that might affect you and your neighbors, such as floods and other natural disasters.
NONE OF WHICH IS THE BRIEF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER THE US CONSTITUTION.
I am forced to conclude that what they really mean is, “Your betters in the federal government will decide how much of the tax money it hoovers from wallets every paycheck will be returned to you little peons — or more to the point, your local governing agencies — in the guise of a gift from the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful FedGov. Amen, selah.”
And the people are supposed to cry, gladly, “Hallelujah!”
To hell with that. How do we get a reset to the Constitution’s original meaning, and throw 99% of the bloodsucking bureaucracy to the curb, to “root, hog, or die”?
Meanwhile, like a good serf, I will respond to the survey, under protest of course, and with a letter in that vein to my congresscritter and senileators. Not that I expect such to have any actual effect; after all, they’re in on it, too.