Friday, April 9, 2010
US National Government and the Census
There are many aspects and functions of the US National Government. A current and major role the National Government plays is having to deal with the Census of 2010. Ever since the start of this nation, our founding fathers suggested we take a tally of our ever growing population and where the demographics of the people live. Not only does it give an estimate of our overall size as a nation, it helps the national government decide how many seats in the House of Representatives each state gets. This is very important for Texas since this state has grown tremendously in the last decade. We should expect to see about three additional seats available in the House, which means more voting power in the electoral college during the presidential elections. Texas already holds the highest amount of seats at 38 members. This census also means more educational funding as well as many other improvements for our state. Another temporary, yet good thing is that the Census Bureau will be hiring thousands of people part time with decent pay to carry out all the tasks needed to make the census a success. Overall, there will be 1.2 million jobs nationwide held for this census, and it will cost the national government close to $11.1 billion dollars. Maybe I am biased to the census being a worthwhile national task because Texas will benefit greatly. I would be upset if I was in Ohio which is expecting to lose 2 seats for the upcoming 2012 presidential election. Hey at least its a fair determination to see who has more people. The largest population gets more percentage of voting.
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I agree with my classmate on their stance on the U.S. census. The census is necessary despite it's cost, and the founding fathers agreed, which is why it is mentioned in the Constitution. It's only taken every ten years, yet decides so much for our country.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for each indiviual state as it determines the number of representives in the House by population, as he mentions in his blog. (By the way California has the biggest population and therefore has by far the most representives).
The census, he argues, is giving 1.2 million jobs nationwide which is good for the economy as a whole. Although it is costs the government an estimated 11.1 billion dollars it could be looked at as a good investment in the long run because it makes the country run more efficiently. Each state needs an acurate count of it's population so that the proper funding is administered.
I've heard that some people get creeped out that if you don't fill out your census they will give you a phone call, and if you don't answer the phone an official will come to your house. As much as I understand that some people feel this is a violation of privacy, it's a short survey that doesn't impose on your private life anymore than going to the DMV or filing your taxes, and actually gives us more freedoms than it takes away.
The founding fathers knew the census is necessary for an efficient country, and in my opinion I don't see why anyone would be opposed to filling one out. By not filling out your census you're essentially crippling the country by keeping the government from accurately accounting for everyone.