American Community Survey questions

[ryanus]

These are just a handful of the NINE pages of questions (for one person!) from the new census.

The American Community Survey homepage is here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
The actual survey can be found here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest05.pdf

"Housing"
"Does this house, apartment, or mobile
home have COMPLETE kitchen facilities;
that is, 1) a sink with piped water, 2) a
stove or range, and 3) a refrigerator?"

"Is there telephone service available in this
house, apartment, or mobile home from
which you can both make and receive
calls?"

"Which FUEL is used MOST for heating this
house, apartment, or mobile home?"

"LAST MONTH, what was the cost of
electricity for this house,
apartment, or mobile home?"

"At any time DURING THE PAST
12 MONTHS, did anyone in this
household receive Food Stamps?"

"Do you or any member of this
household have a second mortgage
or a home equity loan on THIS
property?"

"What is the main reason members of this
household are staying at this address?"

"Person 1"
"Where was this person born?"

"Is this person a CITIZEN of the United States?"

"Did this person live in this house or
apartment 1 year ago?"

If not, "Where did this person live 1 year ago?"

"Because of a physical, mental, or emotional
condition lasting 6 months or more, does this
person have any difficulty in doing any of the
following activities:"

"Has this person given birth to any children in
the past 12 months?"

"Does this person have any of his/her own
grandchildren under the age of 18 living in
this house or apartment?"

"LAST WEEK, did this person do ANY work for
either pay or profit?"

"At what location did this person work LAST WEEK?"

"How did this person usually get to work LAST
WEEK?"

"What time did this person usually leave home to
go to work LAST WEEK?"

"For whom did this person work?"

"What kind of business or industry was this?"

"What was this person’s total income during the
PAST 12 MONTHS?"

From the instructions here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/InstrGui05E.pdf
"The law, Title 13, Sections 141, 193, and 221 of the U.S. Code,
authorizing the American Community Survey, also provides that your
answers are confidential. No one except Census Bureau employees
may see your completed form and they can be fined and imprisoned
for any disclosure of your answers."

Yeah right. But then it says...
"The same law that protects the confidentiality of your answers
requires that you provide the information asked in this survey to the
best of your knowledge."

And then they say this:
"The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000."
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/What/What1.htm

I got a law for them that they left out...
" The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

If I get one of these, I will put how many people are living at my address and I'll send it back.

[unhappycamper]

1. I wonder if "None of your business" is a valid answer.

I believe that statement to be true.

[SutaUvaca]

2. What?! What IS this??

Criminalizing non-participation in the survey/census??

[Gormy Cuss]

3. The American Community Survey is a special census

The decennial census is mandatory too, even if you received the long form. The ACS replaces the long form in the decennial census with more frequent and smaller censuses in between decennial censuses. The reason these are mandatory is the nonresponse bias can be enormous with voluntary surveys. Voluntary compliance was tested for the ACS because it was the first choice of the demographers -- the response rates were abysmal.

Like the decennial long form extra questions before it, the ACS data will be used by policy researchers, advocacy groups, and politicians to inform on the social policy agenda. The ACS has the same confidentiality rules as the decennial census, right down to minimum aggregation levels for items in public use microdata sets.

[VelmaD]

4. Don't go injecting sanity into this...

It's just so much more fun to panic. *snort*