Wednesday, April 15, 2009
More than ever, the U.S. Census Bureau is facing a daunting prospect as it prepares to account for the estimated 306 million residents of the United States in the 2010 census. Because the current economic downturn has caused so many Americans to lose their jobs and their homes, they will be difficult to track down. The Census Bureau also fears that those in financial trouble will not share information about themselves with any branch of the government. Even though information disclosed to the Census Bureau is confidential, 18-20% of the population is wary of the Census’s intentions.
To combat these worries, the 2010 Census will send out by mail a “streamlined questionnaire” of ten questions, in hopes that everyone, including displaced Americans, will be more honest on paper than they would be with an enumerator. The questionnaire also saves the Census Bureau money, decreasing the need for enumerators.
Because minorities have been hardest hit by the recession, the Census Bureau is targeting them by using one quarter of its stimulus money to launch a $600 million publicity campaign called Census Partnership. Census Partnership utilizes both the media and grassroots marketing to communicate that it is good to be counted because the results of the census are used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives and electoral votes; and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds. The national Spanish-language television network, Telemundo, has also joined the effort, incorporating the benefits of the census into its advertising and also into its shows’ storylines. Voto Latino, a group that previously devoted its efforts to increasing Latino voter registration, will now turn its energies to Latino participation in the Census, enlisting celebrities and targeting young people, who can influence their parents.
-Emma Nagy
Economic Bad Times Could Affect Accuracy of 2010 Census (by Andres Viglucci and Lesley Clark, Miami Herald)
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