First, without accurate numbers, we don't get the political representation we deserve. The Census is used to divide the 435 seats in Congress among the states, as well as the seats in the Texas Legislature. A census that misses more minorities and poor people means that those groups are under-represented in Washington and Austin. Second, without accurate numbers, we do not get the federal funding we need to take care of our state's needs. We need that money.
Many federal programs distribute money based on population.
Approximately 100 million households will receive a Census survey in the mail. We owe it to ourselves to get counted. Encourage your friends and neighbors to send in their forms or meet with the census takers. For those that are missed we should fill in the gaps using sound scientific procedures. Otherwise, we're just throwing money out the window once again.