Y and I looked for
apartments this morning closer to where we work. It's strange. Picture a nucleus of companies in a
generic-looking
wasteland surrounded by expanses of houses and apartment buildings. You
work, you go home. You work, you go home. It makes me nervous, and I don't think that I could stay there for too long.
We saw about three different places before noon, which made us feel ultra-productive - even more so because we pretty much made a decision on one, which has data/voice jacks in every room (and a big laundry area/server closet).
Later, we watched The Opposite of Sex, and just as we got to sleep (in the afternoon, b/c of working the midnight shift) the Census gestapo paid a visit. They rang the buzzer, twice, and just when I went to the door to see who the fuck was waking me up they went through the other door. I heard them walking upstairs so I went to the other side of the building to meet up with them. They had Census IDs, and I told them calmly that I did not appreciate being woken up only to have them go elsewhere just when I get to the door, and that this was 0300 in my reality so would they please leave me alone. So I walked back to my apartment. They were right behind me and started knocking on the door. When I opened it (not be receptive) they went on about "upholding the Constitution"...blah blah blah. Uphold this. I don't think that they've ever read the Constitution. Being thugs on Memorial Day, no less.
I don't care that if they only had three questions. I made it clear that it was the middle of the night for me. They went on to say that if we didn't comply, more people would come over and that we would be bothered more and more. I told her that she was escalating the issue by being so insistent, and she said that *I* was escalating it. They finally went away, but we were pissed.
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C. To whom do I report the inappropriate behavior/appearance of a census taker?
We regret that the behavior/appearance of the enumerator was not business-like and up to Census Bureau standards. This should be reported to the Assistant Manager for Field Operations, or to the Manager of the Local Census Office. You may get the telephone number for the Local Census Office from Directory Assistance or from the Census internet site at http://www.census.gov/jobs2000/www/where.html
(Note to Census Bureau headquarters staff: take the initiative to go on the internet site and provide the appropriate LCO telephone number to the questioner.)
There are fines for non-response and for false response as well, though the amount has risen from the 1790's $20. Today failure to respond can result in a $100 fine; providing false answers is a more severe offense, and carries a $500 fine. Recent news reports, however, indicate that punishment for failure to respond is not
usually enforced. The controlling section of the Code is 13 USC 221.