Do your duty: Fill out 2010 Census

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12:54 PM Friday, March 12, 2010

Besides voting in the May 4 primary, there’s another patriotic duty awaiting you in the near future. This week, residents of Butler County should begin receiving their 2010 Census forms in the mail.

The national census, of course, is that decennial head count that’s required in the Constitution and has been part of the nation’s history since 1790. Interestingly, despite its long history and tradition, the census count — like everything else originating in Washington these days — has become a cause celebre in some corners this year.

Controversy surrounding the census this year is twaddle, attempts by some politically motivated critics — disgruntled with the Obama administration, health care reform, Wall Street and the recession, you name it — to encourage Americans not to participate. For these cynics, not filling out the census form is an act of civil disobedience — a meek one, albeit — but nevertheless a way of telling The Man to put his form where the sun doesn’t shine.

Although we encourage readers to fill out the census forms, we must admit that the letters mailed last week — to inform us all that the actual form would soon be arriving by mail — did seem a bit excessive, considering the growing national debt and recent headlines about the U.S. Postal Service’s dire financial condition. And it just gave the gadflies one more reason — that the government shouldn’t have provided — to ridicule the whole process.

When your form arrives in the mail, we hope you’ll put aside any contempt you feel toward Washington or fears about Uncle Sam knowing too much about you (he already has your Social Security number, you know), fill it out promptly and mail it back in the provided postage-paid envelope. For your convenience (and to allay fears about government intrusiveness), the form has been reduced to a mere 10 short questions.

And those who don’t complete and return the form may be inviting a visit to your doorstep from a real live census worker.

As we’ve noted previously, besides the need for an accurate population count, there are two big reasons that your participation is needed:

• The census determines the number of seats that each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ohio is already expected to lose two seats in the House because of population trends, according to the Washington Post, and our state’s influence could be further diminished if all Ohioans are not counted.

• An undercount in our community could mean the loss of federal funds that are spent on infrastructure and services. The information the census collects helps to determine how more than $446 billion in federal funding each year is spent, the Census Bureau says. Your lack of participation in the census won’t change Washington’s spending habits, but it will ensure that your community and your state’s fair share goes elsewhere.

“The census determines the future of our state,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said at a Cleveland rally on March 8. “It determines the resources, services and funding we’ll have available to ensure our children grow up with the education and medical care they need. It determines the funding we’ll have to keep our communities safe and ensure our small businesses can grow.”

It’s important that everyone be counted. Put aside your political views and anxiety for 30 minutes and do your patriotic duty. Fill out the form when it arrives in the mail.

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