Based on the knowledge that you work at an economic justice np and you mentioned something about census work at brunch when I was visiting Chicago, I'm very curious to hear your thoughts on the 2010 census now that it is issued. Here are some questions I am having: How will the US gov't decide what programs communities need based simply on queries for race, age, relatioinship w/in household, and home ownership? How will the US gov't delegate things like "funding for roads" based on this information? Why don't they ask for household income? I'm just overwhelmed by it. I feel slighted by my government's lack of interest in the integrity and diversity of my identity and the identities of American citizens. If you're going to ask, you have to go all the way. Why the curiosity about hispanic, latino, and Spanish origins? Why even ask about racial identities? Why are some racial identities colors and other nation state identities or cultural identities? If the main initiative is for accurate counts of the people for proportional representation in government, why not keep queries to a count of household residents? Perhaps you could offer some dishing on the subject?

How will the US gov’t decide what programs communities need based simply on queries for race, age, relatioinship w/in household, and home ownership? How will the US gov’t delegate things like “funding for roads” based on this information? Why don’t they ask for household income?

this is kind of funny ([eyebrow raise] in a social sciences kind of way [eyebrow lower]). in the past the Census used both a “short form” (which you no doubt recently received) and an additional “long form” which goes into much more detail concerning income, housing and other important details. every household in the USA receieved the “short form” and approximately every one in six household received the “long form”.

the 2010 Census is the first in our history to only use the “short form”. in place of the valuable data the “long form” provided, the government has started the American Communities Survey. the ACS is planned to be a permanent and continuously active method of gathering important data on citizens and communities. i am not sure how many households will receive the ACS this April but, because it is constantly running, i believe the hope is that a deeper picture of the nation can be extrapolated from the constantly updated individual household responses. 

the actual mechanisms of determining who gets what based upon this extrapolation is unclear to me but i should make clear that participation is very important. there are over $400,000,000,000 (four hundred billion with a ‘B’) in federal funds that are allocated based upon Census information. participation amongst society’s most marginalized is especially important given that there is a historical correlation between low-income families and low responses rates. i do know that the methods of allocation are responsive to total population figures as well as “social need”; so for a community to get those desperately needed funds for schools, hospitals, parks etc they should make themselves “count” in the Census.

Why the curiosity about hispanic, latino, and Spanish origins? Why even ask about racial identities? Why are some racial identities colors and other nation state identities or cultural identities?

i am ashamed of the way our government clings to racial classifications for two reasons. one, i believe that government endorsement of a scientifically empty concept propagates its legitimacy. secondly, the WAY that government structures the race-metric is fucking retarded. i’ve worked with it for years (since college) and i’ve found it to be short sighted, ideologically inconsistant and ultimately not hugely useful in understanding a household. i have no flattering answers for you, only the supremely unsatisfying assurance of a historical of error.

If the main initiative is for accurate counts of the people for proportional representation in government, why not keep queries to a count of household residents? 

the Census does a lot of things. it is the primary lens through which the country understands itself, not just an exercise in petty political proportionment. in addition to helping the government make decisions of scarcity and allocation, it also is a massively rich public database that allows private citizens to better inform themselves. given that there IS some manifestation of a “long form” (though you did not receive it), i trust you see how these other functions are carried out.

cheers.