Isn't this what the census form was for???

[RecoveringKinkoid]

No need to explain again. Contrary to what a great many people think, reexplaining yourself does not somehow make everyone agree with you.

And anyways, I do agree with you. Town funds are not federal funds. Got it. US census is not info the town is going to be privy to. Got it.

However, I think you are missing the point entirely here. Which I suppose is to be expected when you only scan over a post in order to find something sarcastic to say rather than actually read it to find out what someone is saying so you can debate it in a civil fashion.

Really, this is less about where what money comes from and more about offensive questions on surveys and disturbing government nosiness on all levels. Or, at least, that was my main gripe. Do you have anything to say about that?

[Andara Bledin]

I don't have a birth certificate because the form asked for my grandparents' occupations and my mother thought it was none of their business and they wouldn't process the form without that information.

I happen to agree with her. What the hell do my grandparents' occupations have to do with the advent of my birth?

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

I don't have a birth certificate because the form asked for my grandparents' occupations and my mother thought it was none of their business and they wouldn't process the form without that information.

I happen to agree with her. What the hell do my grandparents' occupations have to do with the advent of my birth?

^-.-^

Identification, especially if it was before Social Security numbers. Adding in people's occupations is one more step in separating them from some other person who might happen to have the same name.

[Andara Bledin]

Nope. Not before SS#s. I'm certainly not that old.

And that's irrelevant anyway since both of my parents had social security numbers, making anything past getting their information utterly redundant.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

I didn't mean you were that old, only that your grandparents might have been. But you're right; they would have had them by the time you came along. But then, I also don't know that birth certificates ask for SSNs. (And which are you supposed to keep more secret, generally, anyway: your SSN or your occupation?)

[Sleepwalker]

Do you have anything to say about that?

I have already said something about that, and I am not repeating it. Go reread what you apparently skimmed over.

[Mytical]

The problem is the OP is correct. Ethnicity should have Jack all to do with funding. America is a diverse ethnic place, so why worry about it? It is impossible to be biased about ethnicity if you never learn the people on the blocks ethnicity. All it would be is a bunch of numbers then. IE X number of people here, and sidewalks are in Y condition. So why get the info at all?

To show that they are NOT biased..right. Ok. Yeah. Only by using that information to decide where needs the funds it is being absolutely biased. Let me try to explain using race as an example. One road has a diverse racial profile, and it gets a lot of funds because of that. Another doesn't because it has all of one race. Doesn't matter what race, even 'white', that is discrimination.

Heck, I am not sure why it is even on the National Census. Shouldn't matter that there are X% of a race somewhere.

[Kheldarson]

Population movement, Myt. That's why it's on there.

With the census, we're able to see that during the 1800's the majority of blacks were in the South. There's then a shift in population to the North, followed by another immigration back to the South. As a historian, that sort of movement is interesting to me, and begs the question of why. But I wouldn't have the proper information if I didn't have that kind of detail on record somewhere.

[Andara Bledin]

There are actually sound sociological reasons to track the population densities and various demographics.

However, discrimination is the only reason to use anything beyond population numbers and possibly age for decisions regarding infrastructure needs.

^-.-^

[jackfaire]

And if they are asking for what ethnicity someone is so they can make a decision based on that, be it for or against that ethnicity, it's STILL discrimination based on ethnicity. You can't discriminate in favor of any group without discriminating AGAINST some other group. It's not possible. That's what favoritism is. You can call it favoring one group instead of discriminating against another, but there's no way to have one without the other.

The decision based on that is for a simple reason. If they didn't ask what ethnicity you were and had to pick between two streets which one got a sidewalk this time and which one doesn't if they happen to pick the one with less people that would be considered minorities they will find themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit for discrimination with the ACLU breathing down their necks.

If they ask and pick the street with less caucasians no one will dare scream discrimination because then all of the neighbors would point at that street and call them over paid entitlement babies who must live privelaged lives cuz they were born caucasian.

[siead_lietrathua]

ok, i was keeping up fairly well reading this, but one part did confuse me a bit.

.....In fact, the information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services like:
.....
* Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
.....

If this is a true statement, then the community survey is not really about the local gov knowing where to put a sidewalk. .....

i know roads, sidewalks, etc are all covered under public works, at least in our area. (ontario canada)
i also know while the federal government funds things based on the census, the towns need to decide what areas those funds get applied to. the federal says you get $xx towards public works, and the town needs to survey out to find the areas with the most need.
maybe it's diffrent elsewhere, but i know around here its fairly standard for the town to either hold surveys or meetings or both before going ahead with a project so the people can make their voice heard. that whole democracy thing.
it could be just diffrent where i am.

also, are people ok with information gathering on age, race and etc on the federal census and not the local ones? i mean, both are government entities, so if you dont care that one does and find the other one to be being racist it seems a bit... double standardy? for lack of a better term. it's all population information gathering.
like our town used to be magority elderly causasion, but in the last ten years its shifted to a more diverse cultural background with young families. without the data gathering the town would probably not be considering a new youth hall, or had shifted its public events to cater to the new younger crowd as well as the older one.

but it's all just my opinion anyway.