There are fines for not cooperating, but even Census Director Kenneth Prewitt admits that they don't prosecute. And that's why the census doesn't hire anyone working in law enforcement or regulatory jobs, such as cops or tax collectors, for fear people would think they'd leak information. No one, except sworn Census Bureau employees, can see your questionnaire. That's a change from the early days, pre-1880, when the census was conducted by the local marshal and the results posted in public. A. Believe it or not, yes.
Somebody suggests that after almost every census.
Then it's referred to a committee, which decides it won't fly. Q. We hear a lot about undercounts. The more people, the more federal aid. The more people mail in their forms, the fewer workers it'll take. But since so many ignore the forms, the census will hire 4,000 to 5,000 people in Broward and around 5,000 to 7,000 people in Miami-Dade, most of them to knock on the doors of folks who don't send back the form.