A Civil Disobedience Idea
I have been toying around with a protest idea over the last few days, one that I hope would excite both civil libertarians interested in privacy as well as small government libertarians fed up with government social micro-engineering:
Skip the Census
It was all fine and good in 1810 when they were mainly allocating Congressional Districts, but today the census is the main vehicle for allocating huge amounts of extra-Constitutional federal spending, and provides the information legislators use to justify any number of new taxes and spending programs. Its time for us to all take those census forms and just circular file them. I think that this is a particularly powerful act this time around given the emphasis the Obama administration has put on the census as part of its policy initiatives.
In my own business, I get Federal census forms and labor department surveys and tourism board surveys -- stacks of these things -- and I toss every one of them into the trash. I have zero need to help provide government with the ammunition to further rape my wallet and trash my rights.
I would value your opinions on this.
The problem with Census dissenters is that you need to call the regional office in Seattle 1.800.233.3308 and ask for the assistant director and tell her why you object. The Census employees who have been working for years as part time intermittent employees with no benefits and are at risk of losing their jobs. For the Census you have to have a certain percentage of successful interviews or you get fired. This is becoming increasingly more difficult lately.
Instead of letting someone lose the job they have worked for years (every month year around not just in decennial years) and maybe lose their homes and their lives because now they have a bad job reference (this employee could not successfully complete the requirements of the job), consider making the govt responsibility for the mistrust and disillusionment they have caused.
Also if you are objecting even partially based on the cost of the Census it's even more important you call and let them know so they can do something to change things before the money is wasted.
The Federal Govt and Census Bureau in particular are so far removed from reality that they blame the Field Rep--you aren't speaking correctly to people, you must be dressing incorrectly, doing the job incorrectly, etc.
If you really disagree and want something to change don't do it the cowardly silent way. Call the darn Census Bureau, speak to the assistant director and your Congressman's office and give them specific reasons why you will be dissenting.
Sorry for the grammar errors I was typing fast and excitedly.