Refusal to Take Census $5000 Fine
This dissertation shown below in BOLD print is from the CENSUS.GOV official website, for which the particular page in question is located as follows:
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/What/What1.htm
Things are apparently much more determined than to give a reliance on the limited scope of information being posted to any non-official online forums that I've read through thus far. For one thing, the potential for fines (against anyone over 18 years of age) for refusal to participate in the survey has apparently increased from a paltry $100 to a considerably hefty sum of -- $5,000!
That strikes me as amazing and even incredulous to a degree. If lawmakers can simply - and arbitrarily - raise the maximum fine by a whopping 50-fold with today's law, then what's to say they can’t subsequently and arbitrarily raise it by another 50-fold (i.e., $250,000) with tomorrow's law? As far as that goes, you will also note below where the potential fine for unauthorized dissemination of Census' takers personal information on the part of any conceived unscrupulous government-hired Census employees has otherwise increased itself to $250,000!
Another interesting thing to consider is that (unless you can find something that I managed to miss within the context of the legal jargon), there doesn't appear to be any clear cut "CONSENSUS" on what defines outright refusal to participate and what does not define such refusal. In other words, it may be that a currently "homeless" person who is unable - and effectively unavailable - to participate simply due to the fact of being without a mailing address, and furthermore living on the fringes of society, could later (as in years later) be arbitrarily held liable for refusal to have participated if the issue ever arose as a separate question in view of some concurrent legal matter affecting the person (e.g., failure to pay a traffic fine).
I specifically recall a live news' broadcast from the calendar year 2000 (the last year the Census was conducted) where a female commentator stated that it was "not technically illegal" to refuse participation in the Census. That being the honest case to view the sentiment for the cause way back then, then I would say that anyone nowadays who is suggesting it has ALWAYS BEEN ILLEGAL to refuse participation, is apparently wrong and mistaken.
But based on the notations given below, I would suppose that it's definitely illegal to refuse the issue during this current term.
Don't worry, though! This is America the Beautiful. We're all free here, by God! (Remember?) The government only wants the information from you for such humble and honorable ideals as deciding how many more "house seats" should be delegated; and including to determine other such notables as how much money (within a few dollars per person anyway) should be allocated to road construction.
Do "illegal aliens" need to participate? I don't even know the answer to that question, except to personally wonder about the answer, since last I heard is that illegal aliens are (or were) required to hold a state-issued driver's license.
But apart from illegal aliens, the fact the government already has mostly everyone's tax histories, drivers’ licensing information, voter registrations, any criminal records’ information, and so forth, is apparently not a satisfactory amount of information to prove that you do in fact exist.
So Uncle Sam needs you to fulfill your patriotic duty in the here and now just to make sure that he's got his sights set squarely on you! It's as simple as that.
So do it today; and don't delay! Hoo-ray, hoo-ray!!
And by the way, as long as you are planning on participating in this little exercise in futility just before the end of the world is scheduled to occur in 2012, my personal suggestion is that you consider spending an extra $5.00 on U.S. Priority Mail delivery, including "Delivery Confirmation," just in case your info gets obliterated (by mistake, of course) in the course of mail delivery. (These unfortunate things historically happen to a roughly determined number of U.S. mail pieces per millions’ of mail items sent through the Postal Service.) That way you can show evidence of your compliance with the law of the land in case you need to show it.
Plus, the U.S. Postal Service will DEARLY LOVE an added and much-needed bailout stimulus from about 140 million people if they all spent an extra $5.00 on such expedited mail service.
God Bless America – and Happy travels...
The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000. The U.S. Census Bureau may use this information only for statistical purposes. We can assure you that your confidentiality is protected. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you and all other respondents strictly confidential. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.
You may view Title 13 at the U. S. House of Representatives website at the following address: http://uscode.house.gov/download/title_13.shtml
