The government wants to know all about you.
Such a statement would normally send conspiracy theorists into a tizzy, but there is no need.
All the government really wants to know is how many people live in your home.
It is time once again for the census, that beginning of every decade attempt to officially tally up just how many Americans there really are.
Sometime in the next couple of weeks, every household will be receiving a copy of the 2010 census form, containing 10 questions.
Sounds simple enough. Just answer the questions and mail the form back. But only 72 percent of Americans mailed back their 2000 census forms.
Oklahoma’s overall participation rate was even lower, at 69 percent. In 2000 Garfield County had the highest rate of participation in the state, 78 percent. Delaware County in northeastern Oklahoma had the lowest rate in the state, 46 percent.
What happens if you don’t fill out your form and mail it back? You will be receiving a visit from a friendly census taker, who will ask you the same questions that appear on the form. That, of course, will cost money. For every percentage point the response rate decreases, it costs the government an additional $85 million.
The questions are simple and straightforward, not terribly prying at all. Question 1: How many people live in your home? That’s easy. Me and my bride. They apparently don’t want to know about the cats. Some days I can’t blame them.
Question 2 asks about any additional people staying with you. None. Do you own or rent your home, asks question three. Own. Question 4 asks your telephone number. Five asks the names of all the people in the household. Question 6 asks about sex. Wow, that’s kind of personal. Oh, boy or girl, I get it.
Question 7 asks the age and birth date of everybody in the household (perhaps the government is going to start sending us birthday cards). Just a note to the ladies, there is a fine for providing false information to the census bureau, so if you say you are 29, you’d better really be 29.
Question 8 asks if each person in the household is Hispanic. Nope. I’m not sure about the cats. Question 9 asks your race, while question 10 asks about whether or not you ever live or stay someplace else. Nope. I’m not sure about the cats.
There, it’s that simple. Stick the thing in the self-addressed stamped envelope included in the mailing, and you are finished. With the census, I mean, not literally, unlike what the conspiracy theorists would have you believe.
And why should we care? There are some $400 billion in federal dollars on the line for things like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, bridges, tunnels and other public works projects, as well as emergency services. The bigger your state’s population, the more money you are going to get.
Besides, losing population in the 2000 census cost Oklahoma a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, thereby depriving us of a voice in the way we are governed.
Americans are so competitive, everybody wants their town to be bigger. According to the 2000 census, Enid’s population was 47,045. We’ve got to try and beat that this year.
There doesn’t seem to be a good reason not to fill out the census form.
So when your census form comes in the mail, stand up and be counted. Or you can fill it out sitting or lying down, for that matter. It’s your choice.
It is better than my idea, which is to have everyone in America count off, much like we did in school when choosing up sides for dodge ball. This method would be problematical, however. It is too easy to lose count once you get above 300 million or so.
Mullin is senior writer of the News & Eagle. E-mail him at jmullin@enidnews.com.