Some of the biggest whoppers I've ever heard have to do with the U.S. Census, and why people think they are entitled to refuse to fill it out. Some people think it's too intrusive - they don't want to have to tell the federal government how many bathrooms they have or how much their mortgage costs a month. The bottom line for all those people is that regardless of their excuses, they don't care that they are endangering the quality of our schools, our ability to respond to natural disasters and even our right to be represented in the U.S. Congress.
Most people get a simple form that asks how many people live in their house, and that's about it.
Others get a longer form, and it does ask several personal questions - including a couple about indoor plumbing and mortgages. It helps poor schools get better, for example, or builds low-income housing and promotes rural prosperity. The personal questions also make it easier for the government to rebuild after natural disasters such as Hurricane Floyd, because the census numbers help determine the number of people affected. When it comes to people returning this year's census, North Carolina lags behind the national average by 9 percent. We might as well tell the other states to take our money, even though it's money we need more than they do.