Also, to those concerned... we don't take pictures. All we do is verify separate housing units - for instance, an attached apartment etc.

We also don't ask for any personal information about residents, including number, race, finances, etc. I see many blog postings saying we do - but frankly, I don't believe this, and here's why. I go up to each house and give the canned speech, "Hi, I just knocked as a courtesy to let you know I'd be on your porch updating our address info... (confidentiality speech).... are there any other places here someone could live?" This is all I ask. But I get answers like, "There are 5 people named Anna, Samantha...." "I'm retired, but the two people sharing a bedroom upstairs..." "I work as an engineer at blah and make this much...." "We've been married 22 years...". This is a regularly occurring response. I again inform the person (sometimes cutting them off) that I'm not collecting any personal information whatsoever, I just want to know about the housing unit (s). Usually at this point, they understand, though there are some who still persisted in airing their live's details. Even if I wanted to record it (which would be against the law), there's nowhere to put it in the HHC!

I think that some people don't actually hear me talk; rather, they just see a census taker, and hear me ask whatever they expect me to ask, based on whatever they read about the Census in whatever blog they read (this particularly applies to a few quite nasty encounters - rare, but they happened). If people don't trust the government to handle the information properly, who am I to say otherwise - I'm not a watchdog.

So for info on addresses... I just want to know what they expect us to do with the knowledge you have a basement apartment rented out, since we're legally required to not tell anyone, including your local municipality (for this, I'd worry about your neighbors - I've frequently had people tell me, unsolicited, that someone on their street "...rents an apartment out of their home ILLEGALLY").

I hope that clears up some confusion for some people here.

And believe me, I'm not criticizing USPS employees, as I'm friends with 2 USPS workers myself. I'm also a big fan of the USPS, I choose it over UPS or Fedex (etc) for mailing packages or having mail/internet orders sent to me. I find the USPS to provide exemplary service most of the time. I also praise the United States for having a postal system that's not subsidized with taxes, as happens in most (if not all other) nations.

But come on, I'd really like to know who's making these decisions about mailing addresses and rural routes where people wind up not even knowing the official name of the road they've lived on for 20 years? That's what amazes me.

In light of this problem where mailing addresses do NOT accurately depict what township a person actually lives in, GPS technology certainly can help clear up that confusion. So it makes sense the Census Bureau would want to employ such a technology. And it could save thousands of work hours that our taxes pay for, after all.

And it's important to keep in mind that ANYONE can apply for a job as a US Census taker. The only things that would bar you would be some types of criminal history or failing the entrance exam. Or perhaps some other conflicting government or political position, I don't know.

Census takers out in the field are people hired from your own community. These aren't politically paid secret agents out to get you. They're regular people from your community being paid a modest wage to do a job. Ultra liberals and right-wingers, and everyone inbetween, work side-by-side. There's nothing on the entrance exam that would betray political leanings. They're just normal knowledge tests directly related to the actual work that's to be performed in the position for which the person is testing.

And if these Census workers were asked to collect infomation that seemed suspicious or went against their political ideals & views, or went against the constitution, there would be at the very least, hundreds or thousands of Census employees posting on the internet about how they were asked to defy the Constitution, or collect information they believed was intrusive & unprotected. The government would never be able to keep all those mouths shut regardless of the oaths they take. Which, by the way, Census takers take an oath to DEFEND the Constitution. I'm sure if their jobs went against their oath, there'd be a lot of Census employees up in arms at the contradiction if it were so.

So frankly, I think believing that Census takers are in on some kind of conspiracy to collect information beyond what's publicly declared, for purposes that go against the constitution is right in the same category as believing that the Apollo moon missions were faked or that Corning Glass has a secret agency of super spies in league with the British monarchy.

Is the US government perfect? Hell no. Should you trust everything that goes on in the government - definitely not. But frankly, I think if you're going to be paranoid about the government, your concerns would be more rationally directed to the topic of CORPORATE powers corrupting it in order to pay less taxes. Not blame some low level Census taker out in the field as being a spy looking to get his fellow peers in his community to pay more taxes.

Within the oath of a Census worker is also the agreement that they not share even the most seemingly benign information with any other government agency at any level, or risk criminal action with punishment that could include jail time. That means if a city cop, or a senator, or a CIA agent, or even the President, approaches even a low level Census worker for so much as an address they have listed, the Census worker is required, by law, and by their oath, to defend that information & keep it private within the Census Bureau.

And though I'm sure there's sociopaths & other corrupt individuals who get employed by the Census Bureau, the idea that other parts of the government would pay Robert Hanssen types working for the Census Bureau for household locations seems illogical. It just doesn't make profitable sense. Especially when other commercial entities already have GPS mapping information that's probably more potentially lucrative than the type done by the Census Bureau.

As for the comment about grocery store shopper cards, they're spot on. They collect tons of information about you. And they can sell it to whoever. It's not protected by the Constitution like the Census information is protected by law. The Census Bureau gets money budgeted from the government to collect & store information, they don't have to show profits to stockholders. Grocery stores are in the business of making money, so there's a real incentive for them to disseminate that information to improve their profit margin. Same goes for Google Maps. They're a for-profit business.
I'm far more wary of those who collect information for profit. Greed is the root cause of all sorts of human rights violations.

As for the whole gun hoopla. There seems to be a real provincial attitude fueling a communication disconnect on this issue. And nowhere is it more obvious than on this issue where it's clear that people don't even understand that other people live in areas that are completely different from each other in ways as basic as mailing addresses.
Just like city dwellers don't seem to always realize that not all houses in the countryside & woods have regular addresses. Country folk don't seem to realize what's involved in living in close quarters with your neighbors in the city.
Hunters in the boondocks & urban dwellers in the city just don't see where the other side is coming from. The average person who wants more gun control is NOT worried about the guy in the boonies with hunting rifles shooting deer during hunting season or rabbits that invade their gardens. They don't even care about what you're doing out in the boonies. Most of them don't even give a damn if you've got a militia base out there in the woods. It makes no difference in their everyday lives. The guns they're worried about are the ones wielded by the criminal gang members coming into their neighborhoods and shooting up the place over drugs & whatnot. That's the real fear in urban living that fuels gun control political views. The urban dwellers are worried that the country folk want to keep the gangs armed & murderous in neighborhoods where even the police can't seem to patrol & control. And the country folk think the urban dwellers want to stop them from hunting & protecting their property when it's far from police patrol. Each side seems to feel the other is threatening their security.
As someone familiar with both living circumstances (having lived in booth the boonies and in urban settings), I realize the fear isn't about guns or lack of guns at all. But unfortunately for most people, that fear keeps the focus on The Gun.

As far as I can figure out, the Census Bureau does not care about this topic at all. The only reason a Census worker would even be thinking about who owns guns would be for their own personal safety on the job. For example a Census worker in the field might be getting nervous when they go into a known drug infested gang neighborhood, or maybe when approaching a rustic house in the boonies where they might get confronted with a nervous private person wielding a shotgun. Beyond that, guns are likely irrelevant to the Census Bureau. As far as I can imagine, the Census Bureau doesn't have any financial motivation to care about gun ownership or location.

As far as the Census worker who visited the person on Easter Sunday. Remember, not all citizens, (and therefore not all Census workers) are Christian. If you're not Christian, you might not even realize when it's Easter Sunday. It's a different date every year. And as it falls on a weekend it's therefore not a bank holiday. Unless you celebrate it, or are close to people who do, you could probably not notice that it's Easter Sunday. If someone didn't realize it was Christmas, then I'd be surprised. Easter? For example, as a non-Christian, the only reason to know what day is Easter, is so I know what Monday to hit the stores for the marked down marshmallow chicks on sale. MMMMMM. Not to be disrespectful to Christians, frankly, I think about, with a sense of real awe, the crucifixion, every time I see a cross anywhere. It's just not something I focus on during one day of the springtime season, because that's not my religion. I do like the marshmallow chicks though.

As for taking photos... As far as I could find out, the Census Bureau is not employing photography of properties & houses. A tax assesser or an insurance assesser might employ photography. Or, probably less likely, but not impossible, a peeping tom. At any rate, if someone's taking photos on your property without your permission without identifying themselves and their purpose there, you should call the police. Legitimate Census workers would have no problem with you calling the police because they have nothing to hide about their purpose there, because they have a legal right to be doing what they're doing.

I believe it IS healthy to question what the Census Bureau does, and to look into how the information is protected, how it's used, and to be concerned that there's oversight that it's used in a way conforming to the laws set in the Constitution regarding the Census.
Every citizen, ideally, should have a curious interest in what the Census is about.

What's not healthy is when people spread MISinformation about what the Census is doing without actually doing any research and merely pushing supposition based on their inaccurate fear-based preconceived notions... Which is something I've seen a lot of on the internet.
Most of us recognize that nonsense as being on the same level with conspiracy theories about Corning Glass super spies being in league with the British monarchy... But some unwitting citizens may believe this claptrap pushed by people who don't know the first thing about the Census, and just use any opportunity to bitch & complain about the government, however lacking in facts they happen to be.
nd I think that's a shame. It gets in the way of actually taking a critical, rational, look at what the government, including the Census Bureau, is really doing.

I don't see a problem with a healthy mistrust (or better yet, curiosity) with the data being collected.

And no, I don't know what they do with GPS coordinates in Iraq. Well, probably find their way to base, or for targeting.

Which poster is exhibiting paranoia?

Oh, and Holly - if you got insurance for your new home it may have been an agent documenting the state of the property.

Just as KJG said, no conspiracy here. I also agree with Jessica, not every neighborhood is alike. Where I live, you need to find out if some houses are even habitable and also where they get mail if someone lives in these homes. GPS data has many errors.

As for any worries, the Census Bureau is not allowed to share any personal information of any kind with any other government agency. It is merely in existence to count people. That's it.

I'd be more worried about one of those Google cars people have seen driving around their neighborhood taking pictures of their house for Google Maps. The Census is harmless.No conspiracy here.