Census taking is not a new phenomenon.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed……And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. Luke 2:1, 3-5 KJV.
Our own Constitution calls for a census to be taken every ten years starting with 1790. This year, 2010, is the twenty third US Census to be taken.
United States Constitution
Article 1, Legislature
Section 2, House
Paragraph 3
(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.
As you can see, the purpose of the Census in accordance with the US Constitution is solely to determine representation in the House. However, like so many areas, big government has taken over and now uses the Census for a multitude of things. Our forefathers never intended to use it for funding for various projects, for instance.
Any way, having gotten that off my chest, I have accepted a job as an enumerator for this deciennel census. I worked in 1979 (northeast Connecticut) and 2009 (portions of Levy County) for the pre-census in the capacity of collecting addresses and mapping them. I did enjoy these opportunities. For the actual census, we had four days of training, including some OTJ field work.
I have a feeling that this job will yield many posts to this blog.
I started on Tuesday, April 27, in a training class. Already, there are tales to tell. My assigned area is in eastern Levy County. Including our Crew Leader/Instructor, there are sixteen very interesting people. There is a great age spectrum among us…nineteen to seventy. Our backgrounds are equally diverse…writers (such as I), a general contractor, substitute teachers—including a nineteen-year-old extremely talented band substitute teacher, a child’s guardian ad litum, a retired mid wife, a mother and daughter team… Our ethnic diversity—not so much. As a whole, the group is fairly intelligent. There is always at least one, however, that one would like to smack the side of the head for class interruptions and general stupidity. Yep, we had one. Our Crew Leader Heather actually did a pretty good job of keeping us on track even with the “what if” continuous questions.
Most of our training took place in the fellowship hall of a local church.
As an aside: I wonder what the ACLU will think about that…sounds like a church/state relationship to me…I’m sure they’ll have to sue—OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS SAID TONGUE IN CHEEK. But they do sue over very stupid things especially when the First Amendment (or does any other part of the Constitution) does not say anything about the church and state relationship. It was written to protect the church from the government to prevent forming a national or state church. Not to protect the government from God and church. It means that we should embrace religion, but not endorse a particular one.
Bill of Rights—Amendment #1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Wow, I have really been on my soap box tonight. I really want my experience with the Census Bureau to be more of a journal. I promise that I will try to make it so in the future as I have already presented my very highly-opinioned position.
I did find that the class room time was time consuming with less benefit for more time than was necessary. I believe it could have been done more efficiently, but we are dealing with government….
Our first time in the field on Thursday, we went with a partner. I went with a friend that I have known for five years. .Steve and I bought our house from his family several years ago. In all the real estate transaction of which I have been part, this was the only time we remained friends with the other party.
We are supposed to complete one an hour. We hit gravy and were able to complete four of the seven we tried to do. The maps and lists are very specific and for the most part, extremely accurate. We did an area, however, in which the roads and the various twists and turns are very challenging.
We are supposed to complete one an hour. We hit gravy and were able to complete four of the seven we tried to do. The maps and lists are very specific and for the most part, extremely accurate. We did an area, however, in which the roads and the various twists and turns are very challenging.
We left a couple of door “while you were out” flyers with phone numbers with which those living in that home could call me back. I could then conduct the interview by phone. OK, this is cool. Friday morning the phone rang (7:10 am). I thought it was the person for whom Steve was going to work for the day. I almost answered the phone, “He’s already left for the day.” Something told me not to do that and answer with the normal “Hello!” I was still in my nightie, munching an English muffin, enjoying my cup of tea, watching Robin Roberts on GMA.
Wow, I was shocked. It was one of "while you were out" people. The lady was very pleasant. We finished the interview very quickly. I truly never figured anyone would call me back, especially after only doing field work for a couple of hours. So, I was able to go to Friday’s class with FIVE of the seven complete. Wow, big feather in my cap!
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