Five reasons to fill out census form

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Release: With the luck of the Irish on their side, every community across the country is hoping their citizens will complete the 2010 census form. Why is it so important? An accurate count of residents can make or break the basis for many important but often overlooked political, economic, and social decisions that are made for each community that end up affecting our daily lives. Better infrastructure, more services, essentially how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding is spent each year.

 

Census forms will be arriving at every household this week, and some homes will receive two forms. It’s a massive undertaking every ten years that requires more than a million people to accurately count the hundreds of millions of people living in the U.S. Contrary to the myths, participation in the census is extremely safe and easy, and the Better Business Bureau encourages everyone to take a few minutes to fill out their census form and promptly return it when it arrives in the mail.

 

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 12 percent of US residents said they weren’t sure if they would fill out their census form and 6 percent said that it was unlikely, or that they definitely would not return the form. The main reason respondents gave for not returning the form was that they were just too busy, not interested or uninformed. However, a quarter of respondents said they didn’t trust the government.

 

“There are some myths about the census leading people to believe that it is inconvenient or unsafe, but the opposite is true,” said David Polino, Better Business Bureau president. “Not only has the Census Bureau made safety and ease a priority, it’s also in the public’s best interest to respond to the census because it will help the individual’s voice be heard.”

 

While every address receives a 2010 Census form, a random sample of addresses will also receive an American Community Survey (ACS) form. In 2010, about two percent of all households nationwide will receive both the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey. Answering both is important so that leaders and planners in your community have accurate data to make better-informed decisions. Click here for more information about the ACS.

 

In order to dispel some of the myths surrounding the census, the BBB offers up five reasons why everyone should participate:

 

It’s safe - By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone, including the IRS, FBI, CIA, INS or any other government agency. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for revealing any of your information is a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.

 

It’s easy - The mail-in census form is only ten questions long and, for many households, won’t take longer than ten minutes to answer. If you don’t return the form, you’ll be visited at your home by a census taker at least three times. You can avoid that hassle by just filling out the form. If a census worker does come knocking, they will have an ID badge and they will not ask you about any personal financial information.

 

It allocates money and resources to help you - The information the census collects helps determine how more than $400 billion dollars of annual federal funding is spent on infrastructure and services that go to benefit the public including hospitals, job training centers, schools, bridges and roads.

 

It saves you money – For every 1 percent increase in mail responses, the government—and ultimately taxpayers—save $80 to $90 million by not having to send a census worker to your home.

 

It helps your voice be heard - Redistricting is the process of changing electoral district and constituency boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results. Census information affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

Click here to see the New York census local offices or call the New York census central office at 1-888-210-8701. For more advice on filling out your census form and identifying a census employee, visit www.2010census.gov .