Are you smarter than a fifth grader? If so, then you’re qualified to work for the 2010 Census according to Dennis Johnson, who heads the Kansas City Regional Census Office (one of 12 throughout America). H/t to Fox’s Kansas City affiliate for the following:
KANSAS CITY – Advertising for jobs with the 2010 Census has some taxpayers questioning just who the government is trying to hire to go door-to-door, as job applicants can essentially fail a qualification test multiple times, and drug users are apparently welcome to come work for the government.
“Thugs,” said taxpayer Angie Borges, when asked who the government seems to be recruiting for the 1,500 open positions. “Sorry, people that are just not worthy of having that job.”
Applicants for Census positions take a 28 question multiple-choice test, in which they only have to answer 10 correctly to pass and qualify for a job that pays $15 an hour. But if that proves too difficult, applicants can retake the test as many times as necessary to get 10 answers correct.
According to advertising for the positions, the Census wants applicants to know that there is also no drug testing for the jobs.
“You can take the test over and over and over again and fail multiple times until you pass it,” said Borges. “If you pass it, no drug testing required. Who is that going to appeal to?”
Other taxpayers said that they question how those being hired will impact the accuracy of the count.
“It looks like they’re appealing to almost anybody who wants some sort of a job that will pay $15 an hour,” said taxpayer Kim Kearny. “They’re not going after the best, most knowledgeable people, therefore the census may be askew.”
Census regional director Dennis Johnson concedes that testing is designed for sixth- or seventh-graders, so there will be available workers in every neighborhood.
“After a few years, some of that sixth- and seventh-grade knowledge may fade away, but most people are able to get through the test, do very well,” said Johnson. “And we’re seeing a lot of people who get all the questions right. That doesn’t exclude those that don’t. We need a lot of people.”
Today it was alleged that the Census Bureau’s advertising partner, GlobalHue, directed newspapers across the country to face a loss of Census Bureau advertising dollars if they didn’t write six (presumably positive) articles about the Census Bureau’s efforts. If this proves true, it is an example of governmental coercion and extortion, in that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. In democratic (lowercase d) regimes, the government doesn’t mandate media editorial content. (We’re not living in Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela, and for that we should be thankful…)
Yet again, history has shown to repeat itself as similar illegal activities took place between the government and the media industry in 2000. In the age of Obama’s government transparency, why have we reverted back to the 1960s — to a time before Ralph Nader authored the book Unsafe At Any Speed — when newspapers feared retribution from auto company advertisements if they ever wrote anything negative about automobiles?
The claims that came to light today fully validate all the work that MyTwoCensus.com has done, but it also makes us wonder: Has the proliferation of fluffy 2010 Census-related stories from other media sources (which may now be directly tied to this scandal) masked problems and deficiencies in 2010 Census operations? Have publishers held stories that were critical of the Census Bureau, for fear that essential advertising dollars would disappear in this age of media industry uncertainty?
Ten years later, that promise is long forgotten. Globalhue, the ad agency that controls much of the government’s ad money targeting minorities for Census 2010, sent a letter to the National Newspaper Association demanding that publishers run six articles about the census or else the government would cancel its ads. (The NNPA represents community newspapers.)
While there was no explicit requirement of positive coverage demanded by Globalhue, the implication is clear: How long do you think the agency would continue placing ads in any newspaper that was digging dirt against the national headcount?
“In lieu of free ad space, all papers must agree to running six articles (preferably during hiatus weeks) about the Census 2010 as well as two editorials. If paper does not agree to the added value stipulations, buy will be canceled immediately.”
Amazingly, the arrangement proposed in the letter — that ad buys be contingent upon articles written by the papers themselves — is exactly the same as the one conducted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy during its disgraced ads-for-coverage scheme.
Disclaimer: The following does not represent the views of Stephen Robert Morse or MyTwoCensus.com.
I just sent this email to the Census Bureau after witnessing incredible waste this morning. And for the record, I’m not some crazy anti-government teabagger, I’m a diehard Democrat.
Did you have someone handing out red plastic cups today at Wollaston Station in Quincy MA?? Everywhere I looked I saw LITTERED red plastic cups, wrapped in plastic, with info cards about the US Census!! Plastic cups on the subway platform, the sidewalk, and in the TRASH CANS, headed not for recycling, but straight to landfills. Pollution and landfills! WHO authorized this boneheaded promotion? First, whoever you had forcing these pointless, plastic giveaways on commuters should be admonished. “Do you WANT a red plastic cup?” 99% will say no. Don’t force them into people’s hands where they will take one to be nice, get your guy to shut up, or help him meet some possible quota for giving away this crap. Second, you need to cease this “plastic cup” giveaway, just donate what’s left to schools or shelters. Why would you think anyone would want an ugly plastic dixie cup anyway? Hand out the cards if you must, but draw the line at pointless WASTE that pollutes our streets and waterways or ends up in landfills! I guess Congress gave you an advertising budget and you didn’t know what to do with it. Unbelievable. The Census shouldn’t even be advertising in the first place, it’s self-explanatory to anyone with half a brain.
New America Media has an interesting new article about counting Arab-Americans. Here’s a highlight (for full article click HERE):
According to the 2000 Census, the number of Arabs living in the United States was 1.25 million, a figure that many involved in this initiative believe is inaccurate, since Arabs traditionally have larger families than other ethnic groups in the United States. The Arab American Institute estimates the national population to be more than 3.5 million. Community activists say both numbers are too low.
One reason for the undercount, Qutami said, is that without a box to check Arabs write in a variety of terms – for example, Middle-Eastern, Arab-American or Palestinian — on the Census questionnaire, and the numbers get stratified.
Despite the threat of service cutbacks and job losses at the US Postal Service that were announced in recent days, the mailing of approximately 100 million “advance letters” appears to have gone off with only a few minor glitches. (See previous post about city names and zip codes being inaccurate in St. Louis!) Yes, this whole mass mailing concept should seem like a fairly simple process, but after the major printing debacle that occurred in 2000 (that could have been fatal to the advance letter process), we taking nothing for granted. Despite some small levels of populist discontent about the Census Bureau “wasting money,” the lack of discussion about the advance letter should be treated as a good thing, in that people are now generally aware that their 2010 Census form will arrive in the mail in one week. Let’s just hope that next week’s mailing, which is clearly the most important one in terms of obtaining data (and saving taxpayers money in the long run) is also a process marked by accuracy and efficiency.
Below are important highlights from an article on STLToday.com:
Advance letters from the U.S. Census Bureau are causing confusion in parts of the St. Louis area that share common ZIP codes.
But census officials said Tuesday that residents and municipal leaders shouldn’t be worried, the information will be correct on the forms, which are set to start arriving Monday.
The one-page notes that residents received this week say the census forms are coming. The notes are part of an $85 million mailing effort to encourage the sending back of the forms. But some of the letters listed incorrect city names, prompting residents and officials to worry about the accuracy of the count.
After the official census forms arrive, reminder postcards will be sent to areas with low responses, said Shelly Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Census Bureau’s national office.
Some residents of O’Fallon and St. Peters received letters with the correct address and ZIP code, but the wrong city name — Cottleville. Cottleville residents are served by some of the same ZIP codes.
Drabelle said the city received at least 20 calls from residents who were concerned about the city name error.
Lisa Bedian, a spokeswoman for St. Peters, reported a similar number of calls. Part of St. Peters borders Cottleville, she said, but some of the residents who called about their letters lived several miles from the border.
“People are worried about whether St. Peters is going to get credit for this,” Bedian said.
She said the city was asking residents to call if they received an incorrect city name on their letters. She said that residents need not leave their names, but that the city was collecting addresses to get a sense of where the letters were sent.
In St. Louis County, some Maryland Heights residents received letters addressed to Hazelwood. The city’s website told residents they would be counted as living in Maryland Heights. Sara Berry, a city spokeswoman, said the city had received a handful of calls.
“We’re trying to get the word out as best we can and let people know to go ahead and fill out their forms,” she said.
Dennis Johnson, a spokesman with the regional office in Kansas City, said an outside contractor prepared the letters using postal data. The city name on the letter will have no effect on the official census form, he said. Johnson said the official census forms had a bar code with information about exactly where the residence was situated. He said the Census Bureau had been working with city and county officials to make sure addresses were accurate.
“It’s not going to affect the population count,” Johnson said. “They will be tabulated properly for each jurisdiction.”
Scott Hanson, city planner in Edwardsville, said his city had had technicians review data from the census to make sure it included recently annexed properties. “We’re keeping a close eye on that,” he said.
The letters generated controversy in 2000, too. That year, they included return envelopes for those who wanted to receive census forms in another language, but no English explanation was printed on the envelope.
The millions of blue forms being mailed this month in the first census count since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, do not ask about religion. But the idea of answering any questions posed by the government makes some Muslims uneasy, so community leaders are worried that many may avoid the Census altogether.
“A lot of people, they have the concern,” said Raja Mahmood, 50, a Manassas taxi driver who moved to the United States from Pakistan 25 years ago. “The majority of Muslims, they don’t want to draw attention.”
Although he plans to fill out the census form — and the Falls Church mosque he attends, Dar Al-Hijrah, has encouraged it — Mahmood said many Muslims he knows are wary about why the government, which treated them with suspicion in the years after the terrorist strike, wants to collect information about them.
“They can look for the count of how many people live here, and that’s a good thing,” he said, “but God knows what is in their heart.”
Muslim leaders have been holding forums to explain the process. Last week, the Justice Department said that information-gathering and sharing provisions of the Patriot Act do not override federal confidentiality laws related to the Census, with stiff penalties for sharing information about an individual.
Still, community leaders say they understand why people might be cautious. Many remember the trepidation that arose after 9/11, when men from some Muslim countries were required to register with the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service. The requirement led to deportations for visa violations or minor infractions unrelated to terrorism, Hooper said, adding that “whole neighborhoods were emptied.”
There must be some major discontent against the Census Bureau in Maine, as Census Bureau employees faced angry citizens on at least two occasions in recent days. (If you know of other incidents of assault or abuse against Census Bureau employees, please do not hesitate to let us know.) The following comes from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network:
Gov. John Baldacci today is encouraging Mainers to fill out and mail back their 2010 Census forms, as authorities look into the alleged assaults last week of two Census workers in the state.
Authorities told the Bangor Daily News that Wesley Storer, 61, of Bar Harbor is facing criminal retraint, assault and theft charges after tearing the ID badge off a 50-year-old female U.S. Census worker last Monday at an apartment building he owns in Harrington.
Storer then blocked the woman from leaving the building, Washington County Sheriff Department officials told the paper. Officials say Storer was intoxicated.
On Friday, a Brooksville man was charged with simple assault after he allegedly grabbed and pushed a 39-year-old female census worker who knocked on his door. Authorities say James Swift, 53, grabbed and pushed the woman after she tried to leave census papers on his doorknob. The worker did not require medical attention, the paper reports.
U.S. Census workers are currently gathering information for the once-in-a-decade survey of population trends. The incidents have prompted a warning to Census staff. “It has not changed protocol for us, but we have reiterated to our staff to use extreme caution,” says Terry Drake, the local census office manager based in Augusta.
Drake’s office is still hiring workers, and it’s too early to say whether the assaults will affect recruiting. Drake says that the two workers who were assaulted are still on the job.
