Have You Been Counted in the Census?

Despite all the efforts to be culturally appropriate (i.e. reaching out to our Hawaiian and other local ethnic groups), Hawaii?s Census response rate is still one of the lowest in the U.S. It?s actually the sixth lowest, according to Craig Gima at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The Census Bureau even has a special video just to plead with residents to send their Census form in.

I thought this line from a Census blog post really summed up why you should do the form: Residents Urged to Act Today or Risk Visit from Census Workers in May. During the 2000 Census, I was visited by a Census taker, who had to sit down with me, explain the Census, and go every single question. You can save everyone some time, and the government some money,just by sending in your form today.

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono is getting in the game and has sent a detailed email making a similar plea:

If you’ve already mailed in your form, mahalo.  If you have not, today marks the final day to mail in your U.S. Census Form.

A complete and accurate census is vital to our community.  As of this moment, the participation rate for Hawaii is just 61%.  Our state’s participation rate in 2000 was only 64%.  As a result, Hawaii was greatly undercounted and we lost out on an estimated $300 million in federal funding. At a time when our state is in deep fiscal trouble, we can’t afford to let that happen again.

By taking 10 minutes to answer the 10 questions on your census form you can do your part. Let’s help ourselves improve our schools, transportation systems, and hospitals.

I understand there are some privacy concerns about the U.S. Census, but rest assured filling out and returning this form is safe.  Your answers are protected by federal law. Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of your answers and all of your information. Violating this law is a crime with severe penalties. For additional information about the U.S. Census please visit my census page.

For every 1% increase in the national participation rate by mail, the U.S. Census Bureau can save $85 million by not having to send census takers, door-to-door, to households who have not submitted their U.S. Census form.

By just mailing back your completed census form you can make a significant difference for our state and our country.  I urge you to mail back your U.S. Census form today.

They say it takes 10 minutes, but it didn?t take more than 5 minutes for me to do one for our 2-party household! I spent the remaining 5 minutes double-checking because I couldn’t believe it was that easy – this is by far the easiest government form I’ve filled out in my life.

So please, if you haven’t completed your form, do it today. And if you know of anyone who hasn’t, please pass the sentiment on to them. Ultimately, it comes down to money and power – and getting our fair share.

Mahalo!

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P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Tagged as: Capsun, census, exbor, Hawaii, hirono, mazie, poe