by Kerry Thomas
March 18, 2010
How much of your private information are you going to give
to a total stranger this year?
Your government is spending millions of your tax dollars
trying to convince you to voluntarily reveal all sorts of otherwise private
information about yourself and everyone who lives in your home, all as part of
the census.
You do have to tell these government bureaucrats how many
people live in your home. But that’s
all. The Constitution requires an
enumeration, nothing more. And the
reason for such an enumeration is to apportion seats in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Article 1,
Section 2 of the Constitution
requires “The actual Enumeration
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as
they shall by law direct.”
Yes, Congress has the power to direct the manner in which
the enumeration is taken. But they are
only Constitutionally empowered to take an enumeration. Any other questions are extraneous.
Under our Constitution, you don’t have to answer any
question about your mortgage. You don’t
have to answer any questions about your name, your age, your sex, your race, or
your employment. You don’t have to
answer any questions about your income, your employer, or what time you leave
for work each day.
The Census Bureau has a
catchy little Obama-esque slogan for their multi-million dollar ad campaign
about “We can’t move forward until you mail it back.” Move forward? With what? The fundamental transformation of America?
The Census Bureau is also sending out what they’re calling
an American Community Survey,
which asks even more invasive questions about you and your lifestyle. They say they need this information in order
to plan future community projects and to ensure adequate government services.
If you do answer any of these extraneous questions, you had
better get them all right. You can be
charged with perjury if you give false answers. It’s unfortunate, but most of this information is already in a
public database somewhere, be it your local zoning office, voter registration
rolls, or even the phone book.
Ironically, one salient question that is not on any of the
census forms is whether or not you are a U.S. citizen.
The bureaucratic peons “agents” who come to your door
asking these invasive questions will tell you that refusing to answer these
questions could result in a $5,000 fine.
They will cite a federal law that compels you answer these questions.
In 2000, I placed a note on my front door for the census
takers, in which I disclosed the number of persons living in my house. When the census takers knocked on my door,
they asked if the note was for them. I answered,
“Yes.” They asked if I refused to
answer any more of their questions. I
answered, “Yes.” They thanked me and
walked away. So I can truthfully say I
answered every question the census takers asked of me.
In the entire 220 year history of the U.S. census, there has
been exactly one person charged in connection with refusing to cooperate with
the census. It was in the 1960’s and he
was charged not with refusing to answer the questions but with perjury for
giving false answers.
You see, there’s a little thing called the Fifth Amendment,
which ensures your right to due process and says you can’t be compelled to
testify against yourself. Every trained
law enforcement officer knows you have the right to remain silent. Even terrorists are given Miranda rights.