Why the Census Matters — J. Scott Orr
Although the U.S. is spending $14 billion on the 2010 census, many people will ignore the
survey when they receive it. Only 67% of Americans completed and returned their data in 2000; the Census Bureau used methods
such as sending workers to knock on doors to tally the rest. Nonetheless, undercounting and overcounting inevitably occur.
For example, the bureau estimates that 1.84% of the country’s African-Americans were left out of the 2000 count. State
and local officials already are mobilizing residents to fill out the 2010 census. At stake is more than $300 billion a year
in federal and state funds for schools, public transportation, hospitals, roads, and other services, all of which is allocated
according to census figures.
“The census also determines how many Congressional seats a state has,”
says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank. More representatives in Congress
means greater influence for a state. The 2010 numbers will be used to redraw Congressional and local legislative district
lines for the 2012 elections. The changes can be significant. After the 2000 census, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas
got two new House seats each; both New York and Pennsylvania gave up two. Florida, Texas, and Oregon are some of the states
expected to gain seats from the 2010 count, while Michigan, Illinois, and Louisiana are among the predicted losers.
Another effect of the upcoming tally: More than 1.4 million workers will be hired by the Census Bureau, temporarily
making it one of the nation’s biggest employers. Recently, the bureau has dealt with public gaffes and controversies
ranging from a failed attempt to use electronic-counting devices to charges from Republicans that the White House wants to
use the census for political gain. Still, the bureau’s acting director, Thomas Mesenbourg, says, “We are poised
to meet the enormous challenges in front of us.” (Parade Magazine, April 5, 2009).
