Census 2020

[RTH10260]

New thread cause old one was lost with Oldbow

[RTH10260]

2020 Census Undercounted Hispanic, Black and Native American Residents
The Census Bureau said that the overall population total was accurate but that counts of minorities were skewed. Advocacy groups threatened to go to court.

By Michael Wines and Maria Cramer
March 10, 2022

WASHINGTON — Saddled with daunting logistical and political obstacles, the 2020 census seriously undercounted the number of Hispanic, Black and Native American residents even though its overall population count was largely accurate, the Census Bureau said on Thursday.

At the same time, the census overcounted white and Asian American residents, the bureau said.

In essence, the bureau’s report said, minority groups — mostly concentrated in cities and tribal areas — were underrepresented in census figures, even though the total population count in those areas often was fairly accurate. That could affect those groups’ political clout, and conceivably could sway decisions by businesses and governments over the next decade, from the allocation of city services to locations of stores.

Some minority advocacy groups threatened to challenge the results in court, but remedying the undercounts would be difficult if not impossible, experts said.

Robert L. Santos, the bureau’s director, said that despite the omissions, the results were consistent with recent censuses.




https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/c ... ation.html

[Foggy]

That's a feature, not a bug. You don't want to count people with the wrong color skin, then you might have to provide services and support for some of them, and we can't have that. They might count for redistricting purposes, too also. In the old thread, there was considerable controversy about what the Trump people were deliberately doing to sabotage the census, which has in any event turned into a very dangerous job in some sections of this great land of ours, because of violence from people who want to lash out at anyone from the federal government.

It all starts with the schools. We have to teach our children to be better citizens.

[humblescribe]

That's a feature, not a bug. You don't want to count people with the wrong color skin, then you might have to provide services and support for some of them, and we can't have that. They might count for redistricting purposes, too also. In the old thread, there was considerable controversy about what the Trump people were deliberately doing to sabotage the census, which has in any event turned into a very dangerous job in some sections of this great land of ours, because of violence from people who want to lash out at anyone from the federal government.

It all starts with the schools. We have to teach our children to be better citizens.

Truth, Foggy.

I decided to perform a civic duty by becoming an enumerator for the 2000 decennial census. The feds paid me $9.25/hour to visit the homes of those who did not return their census forms. Generally, this meant ringing doorbells between 6-8 PM weekdays and during the daytime on weekends. I would hand them the forms to complete while I waited, then move on to the next address. My area was in a better part of town with homes between 250K and 500K.

Most folks were decent and apologetic. A few even offered me a beer or soft drink while I waited. But there were those few. One woman said she would get her husband to follow me home if I did not leave immediately. Another jerk snatched the paperwork from his adult daughter's hand, and ripped it into shreds. His outburst was, "You government people are all alike! If you don't leave my property right now, I will shoot you!" (And he pointed to his gun case by the front door for emphasis.) Turns out my wife knew of this guy (he was an insurance company representative), and said that he was a big dick to the little people.

Suffice to say that it was a personally enriching experience. I recommend everyone perform this necessary task at least once.

[Foggy]

... but wearing body armor, of course.

[pipistrelle]

I would have opened my jacket, pulled out my legally concealed and beautifully maintained sidearm, and eyeballed the mechanism while he reconsidered his threat.*

*in my dreams

[Lani]

I worked the 2000 & 2010. If someone was mean to me, and some were, I would cry and say I was sorry. I'm just doing the census b/c my employer was closing down, or a family member was ill and we can't pay the hospital bill, etc. The Census makes me go back 6 times to households to try to get the data. Crying more, I told them that I'd just put a notice under the door mat and not bother them. All but one filled out the form. I was promoted and kept on for almost the entire time both years.

2020 was a mess. We only went to each residence once, then got a new list for the next day. Previously, we'd work in the same area for days. In 2000 and 2010 I met neighbors who would tell me when the people would be at home. There were some grumpy people, but their neighbors were happy to give me information about them. Under the new system, there was no way to develop a relationship with the neighborhood.

Also, we had to do everything on an iPhone - which had spotty service in my area. I had to drive around in the evening, trying to get service so I could send in my reports. The manager, a first timer with the Census, wouldn't believe me. I called headquarters about the problem. HQ knew some places had that problem and sent a new phone. But I decided to quit instead.