Charlotte from Cheeky Pink Girl was shocked to see the government using our children to tell us what we should be doing. It’s pretty freaky. Check it out:
On Monday morning, as I’m packing things up at my mother-in-law’s, we put on Nickelodeon for Alan to watch, hoping to keep him out of our hair so we could get the car ready and leave to come home.
All of a sudden, my husband calls, “Char, get in here, you’ve got to see this!”
April 8, 2010 at 12:39 am
Everyone might count, but they don't seem to care if they are counted correctly. When I told a census worker that the 98003 zip code is Federal Way, not Auburn, I was told that if enough people complain it would be changed. Hello, the census is counting thousands of people who live in the 98003 zip code as living in Auburn, when they really live in Federal Way and they don't care because not enough people have let them know about the error.
April 8, 2010 at 12:42 am
Some people are not responding as a form of civil disobedience because of Obamacare.
April 8, 2010 at 1:17 am
Think about it. This is a commercial talking about the government. They think that we are all dumb and they need to take care of us because of this fact. Maybe this was not aimed at the kids to tell their parents they should fill out the Census form. Maybe it is their way of dumbing it down so the citizens get what they are trying to tell us. Huh, huh?
April 8, 2010 at 2:06 am
I wish I'd practiced a bit more civil disobedience, I only put American for race, not much. Sending it in with No Obamacare for birthdate and age would have been a nice touch.
April 8, 2010 at 2:47 am
I just put the number in the household, and put "not applicable" for everything else. (Please come visit me in jail)
April 8, 2010 at 2:53 am
As always, thanks for the link guys! (And how about including me on your blog role?)
April 8, 2010 at 3:34 am
Maybe it's because I plan to work in municipal government one day, but I really think everyone should fill this thing as accurately as possible. I don't care at all for the race question, myself (specially since we're Hispanic so my father wrote in "Puerto Rican" in question 9), and I certainly don't care for the "the more of us are counted, the more money we'll get" message, but still accurate census info comes in handy for a lot of things. Unfortunately for some, the federal government is the only entity with enough resources to do a nationwide count.
That said, I think I would leave the name and phone number questions blank. It ain't anonymous if they have this info.
April 8, 2010 at 10:52 am
Back in the day when I was doing genealogical research, I found old census records very useful. Also, I'm in my late fifties and have filled out a few myself. The 2010 census is probably the least obtrusive census I've seen. I don't understand why so many people have a problem with this.
April 8, 2010 at 12:38 pm
They really need top work on the ad campaign, IMO. Around here, there are all these billboards that say things like "If you don't answer, how will we give you enough busses?" Good grief. It's not appealing OR accurate. Just be honest– this is all about congressmen. If you don't answer, you will lose your representation in Congress to a state that's willing to cheat. On the other hand, if you HATE your district and think your fellow voters always elect idiots, maybe it's better to pass?
April 8, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I don't see the big problem with the Dora Commercial. I know that there was a time in my life when my kids were toddlers and all I watched on TV was Dora and Sesame Street (explains so much…). I might never have seen a census commercial otherwise.
@ Deirdre: I wish I had read your comment 2 weeks ago when I filled it out. Our congressman is a jerk and NJ is on the verge of losing a seat. Maybe he would be gone….
April 8, 2010 at 2:12 pm
I find it distasteful that the government is telling little kids to tell their parents to fill out the form.
April 8, 2010 at 3:36 pm
The Dora commercial doesn't bother me. The Census is a mandate, not simply by legislation, but by Constitution. As a libertarian, I say fill it out properly.
April 8, 2010 at 3:48 pm
The Dora commercial doesn't bother me either. As a father of five, I can tell you that my kids wonder about things. This ad helps my 5 and 2 year old understand about the census. I think they should actually do a schoolhouse rock commercial. Remember "I'm just a bill?"
As far as the census goes, I think it should be filled out correctly. You can actually lose some representation if you're area is under-counted.
April 8, 2010 at 4:43 pm
It is our responsibility as citizens to fill out the census. Remember that Joseph participated in the census. However, the only constitutional questions are the ones that determine how many people live in your household. When the census bureau tries to make you answer the other questions, it is a violation of the constitution.
April 8, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Some people just need to get a life.
April 8, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I also don't see a problem with the commercial. I see it less as indoctrinating children and more taking every means available to get the message out.
I do have problems with the pushes that involve funding allocation as a reason to fill out the census and a reason to fill out the demographic parts. That kind of self-interest pandering is a bit nauseating.
But a count is mandated by the constitution for representation, and that is also the best reason to participate. We filled out the number, which is really all we have to do. But we decided to fill out our names as well because of the value for future family historians. My wife has done genealogical research on her family and found census info very useful.
April 8, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I don't see a problem with putting the ad in a children's program, but I always wonder about all the ads saying you'll get more stuff by filling it out. Isn't the purpose of the census for our representation in government, not for bread and circuses?
I filled out American as our race. My cultural experience has been American through and through, what should it matter where my forefathers came from long ago when I've been raised entirely American – in fact isn't asking such a question racist? I can see the benefits of understanding the cultural identity of a population; if that information is important there's got to be a better way to ask it than race.
April 8, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Think of it in terms of wasting your taxpayer money.
Were your children terrified that you were filling out your census, and crying all morning as you did?
Do we need children to understand what the Census is while they're still learning their ABC's?
Are there households run by four year olds, who need to understand that they should fill out the census, and not just draw unicorns on it?
The only thing this commercial could possibly do is teach your kids that happiness, love, and rainbows comes from the government. And that's a bad thing in my coloring book.
April 11, 2010 at 6:24 am
Lighten up, please! The Census is important. If not now, it will be in 73 years, when your descendants will be thrilled to see accurate
information about their forebears.
DJ