Census Awareness

Last class we talked a little about different ways the Census could be administrated. This Saturday, an article was posted in the New York Times stating 1 in 3 Americans Failed to Return Census Forms. The states that had the highest participation were Wisconsin with 78% participation and Minnesota with 76%. States that had the lowest participation were New Mexico with 59% and Louisiana with 60%. In bigger cities, areas that were predominantly black and Hispanic had lower participation rates.

According to the article, as of Friday March 16, there was only 68% mail participation. This is a 4% drop as compared to the 2000 census where there was 72% mail participation. With more Americans not filling out the Census, we need to find cost efficient ways to raise awareness and involvement. For those who live in poorer communities and do not send in their forms, the government has issued workers to go door to door. This process, though effective, is very time consuming and costly. We must find different ways to make all residing Americans fill out this form. One idea could be linking the form to jobs. All those individuals who do not fill out the census cannot receive their next pay check. Although this method may be harsh, and hard to execute, it will help Americans realize the importance of filling out the Census. Another idea would be for the government to introduce a penalty. On the cover of the census it clearly states, “By law you are required to fill this form”. If all individuals were made to pay a fine for not filling out the Census, it would increase incentive especially for the low income community.

Sometimes I feel that our prime concern is low income households that fail to return the census. However, we do not to realize that there are many white collared individuals who do not fill out the Census due to a lack of time. If the Census were available online, it would allow easier access to fill out and email back. Something must be done to raise participation whether it is by making the form available online, or fining the public, it will later serve the greater good of the community.