I just received what is purported to have come from the commerce department.

[mfcorey1]

The envelope indicates that I am required by law to complete a An American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau. The correspondence my household has been randomly selected to complete a very important national survey. Has anyone else received this? It is a shame that people have to be so suspicious f anything that looks like it might come from the drumpf government. It also warns that if I do not respond I will be visited by an interviewer from the Census Bureau.

[Sneederbunk]

1. Yes, this has been done for some years. Count your toilets now.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. I'm willing to bet that the envelope contains marketing materials

dressed up to look like a questionnaire from the government...

[Sedona]

3. I was a paid employee of the 2010 census

Can you post a photo of the document?

The census bureau does send out questionnaires to randomly selected households to help determine the number of employees they'll need in any given area when the full census is begun.

Not saying that's what you have there, but sound like it might be.

[elleng]

4. About Household Surveys

About Household Surveys
The U.S. Census Bureau compiles information from household surveys to produce statistics that describe populations and their characteristics, such as age, education, housing and income. We collect this data by asking household members to provide information about the people who live in the house, apartment, mobile home or group housing.

To determine the sample of households that are selected to be in a survey, we use a variety of sources, some samples are address-based, others are telephone number- or person-based.

For household surveys, once we select your address, we send you an official letter from the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Because most surveys are “addressed-based,” and we do not know who lives there, most letters are addressed to “the resident of."

https://census.gov/programs-surveys/are-you-in-a-survey/about-household-surveys.html

Respond to the Survey or Get Help
Respond Online



It's safe, secure and confidential. Your information and privacy are protected.
It's economical—it's the least expensive way to respond to the survey—saving taxpayers money.
It's greener—it helps conserve paper.
It's user-friendly—offering you help screens and the ability to review your answers.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/respond.html

[mfcorey1]

8. Thanks. You described exactly what I received.

The online response is https://respond.census.gov/ac.

[elleng]

9. You're welcome.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. If you googled it, you would learn more about it.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/

It's legit. Please fill it out.

[2naSalit]

6. It's probably

legit. If it has the official Bureau of Commerce logo and a return envelop. The Census Bureau does conduct random surveys continually, it's where a lot of the data we rely on about our population comes from. And someone from the Bureau will come to interview you if you fail to participate via mail. What they will ask will basically be the questions that are on the questionnaire, they can't record any other responses than those to the questions asked on the survey in your hand.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. I send those out. It is legitimate, and you will be visited by a Census field rep...

if you don't send it in. ACS has been around for years as a separate survey they broke off from the "long form" on the decennial.

The Census Bureau has incredibly strict privacy procedures, moreso even than the IRS an no one has yet been able to get into their files. I don't think Trump even know what Census does...

I work for the bureau, and am threatened with a $250,000 fine and 5 years in jail if I release any info-- every Census employee agrees to that and there are annual "reminders".

They do a lot more than the decennial and census.gov has the full story on most of the surveys they do.

[lunasun]

10. Been there. You've been selected!!

[Angry Dragon]

11. it is not a census year..........why is it coming now??

[Stuart G]

14. The census bureau does this kind of thing, in off years..to know who we are...

It is not part of the 10 year census. It is part of their larger mandate..in answer to your
question.....why coming out now? It needs to be counted, and caluculated.. the questions to people come out now. (at least this type)

[Stuart G]

12. Yes, I got one once..

Maybe 10 years ago..or more???

Yes, it is legal. And it helps the country to know more about the population, diversity, etc...??
And it is helpful to know, that is for all of us to know who we are. (how many rooms, toilets, people living in the home/apt...etc..Yes, it is random, and yes..it is ok to fill out...I did, and never heard from the census people again..

Census bureau, is not the "drumpf government"..although it sounds like it. It is ok to fill it out. You won't hear from them again, and they really don't use the info for anything other than what they claim. How many rooms, toilets, people living there..etc. And they are not interested who you are at all...(although it sounds that way)..

All they want to know, is...................................
..how many rooms, toilets, people living there, number of children.. what nationality, etc..it is ok.. It is really what they do..after all...it is from the census bureau..

Oh, one more thing after the census bureau complies the information, then it publishes it for all to see. Never uses any names, just how many living in the house, how many toilets, how many children, born where, etc..married, not married...etc... The info is totally public, and I would bet if you looked far enough, you could find the info from the last time the census bureau complied it. ..again, you will see, no names and addresses are used, just how many rooms, how many living there, how many toilets..etc..

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. In the past the census bureau has conducted numerous surveys

for varying purposes. In the early 80's my husband and I got one such survey when we lived in Virginia, and several years later, living in Arizona, we got a completely different sort of survey. It was quite fascinating.

I was a temp employee for the 2010 Census, and I'd be willing to do it again. However, the 2020 census will probably end up as a total cluster-fuck because funding is inadequate and Republicans don't seam to understand the usefulness of things like the census.

In 2010 I was in an office looking at forms that had been filled out by census workers who'd gone out to enumerate those who hadn't sent in their forms. The ignorance and viciousness of some of those people cannot be understated. Over and over again they'd scream at the census workers that the census was unconstitutional and completely refuse to cooperate. I recall noticing one such person was someone with a local radio show. I hadn't thought much of them before, and thought even less now.

[Stuart G]

16. You sure are correct with these sentences

"I was a temp employee for the 2010 Census, and I'd be willing to do it again. However, the 2020 census will probably end up as a total cluster-fuck because funding is inadequate and Republicans don't seam to understand the usefulness of things like the census."

These kind of questions help to determine the needs of our country in the long run..like schools, possible college enrollments, future employment, lots of things the governments, (state, federal and local j) do as a service to communities. ..yes Republicans haven't got much of a clue about anything...in my honest opinion....For example......

Knowing the rate of the growing population of our cities..helps to determine how many police and firemen need to be hired, as well as the number of 911 operators...Yes, this is useful information. And it really is needed to know how to run an organization efficiently..

[milestogo]

15. I have gotten several of those.

I started to fill it out online, and it seemed to be asking for an awful lot of information. And then I thought - why is the Census Bureau contacting me in a non-Census year? Why are they asking about my income? What's really behind this? So I stopped.

I am ignoring it. Its sent to my address, not to me personally. But my gut tells me its not right. If an interviewer from the Census Bureau comes to my door I will say that my dog ate the last one.

[Stuart G]

17. It is what the Census Bureau does...

...See my response above yours.. Don't be offended..it helps project labor needs, and other useful information. And individual homeowner doesn't seem to be important, but over all, in the long run, this information is very important to all of us..

Allow one example: Let's say we know how many children you have..so the information determines if the population is growing or dwindling. (this info is needed in off years..) ..so let's say, the population is growing at a certain rate..more children..and this is known to all...

So, the community you live in knows you have 3 children, (made up, I really now nothing) ..that info helps the schools to determine the number of teachers and classrooms, and since the number of children is growing in your community, a store might open that would serve the needs of children...like a toy store. or...local department stories might..order more children's clothes....or...more on line ads for kids stuff, if our nation's population is growing..........or.........if older people are gaining as a percentage of population, more ads and services aimed at them..
......another example,..the computer industry needs to know, how many own computers and what people do with them...like go to Democratic Underground !!!!

[progree]

18. The Census Bureau also provides the monthly unemployment rate, labor force participation rate,...

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

https://www.bls.gov/cps/

They are quite busy year-round, every year (not just every 10 years)