Census: $57 million for 'reminder' letters well worth it
SEATTLE -- If you haven't gotten a letter envelope from the U.S. Census Bureau, keep an eye out. You should get one any day now.
It's a reminder about the upcoming census where the government counts the people in every household in the country.
But the letters are causing quite an uproar because they don't ask any census questions. In fact, they don't ask any questions at all. They're just reminders -- at a cost of $57 million.
The Census Bureau just sent out 120 million advance mailings, aimed at getting response from as many households as possible when the actual 2010 Census forms are mailed within the next week.
The letters, from U.S. Census Director Robert Groves, read in part:
"Dear Resident: About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly."
With a constitutional mandate to count every one in every household in the country, the Census Bureau says the advance mailings will help reach the nearly 1 in 2 Americans who still don't know it's census time.
Seattle resident Eileen Tripp says it makes sense.
"I think a lot of people who resent the idea that they're sending out the mailers are not really the ones that this is targeted for," said Tripp.
As a residential building manager, Tripp says the letters make sense, especially after what she saw during Census 2000.
"I had one census taker come out like five times, and verify the residence of some of the people in the building, simply because the residents were either too busy or they weren't in town. If this can save even a few trips, it's a good deal," said Tripp.
Based on what the Problem Solvers found in discussions with random consumers, Tripp may have a point. One woman revealed that her 40-something, born-in-the-USA husband, asked "What's a census?" A few 20-somethings living on their own, had a vague idea of the census but had not seen or heard the news reports or public service announcements about the forms being mailed this month.
Add the thousands of households with language barriers, and privacy concerns, and transient occupants, the bureau says a lot of people who should be counted, can fall through the cracks. That's lost money for services in the community.
"As many as 45% of Americans are unaware that this month is when the Census starts," the Census Bureau said in a statement to KOMO News. "That's probably due to the fact we only do a Census once every 10 years. Based on historical response rates, we expect roughly two thirds of households will mail back their form. The rest we will have to send an enumerator to collect the data required by the Constitution. You can imagine that follow-up is an expensive proposition."
Census administrators say the advance notices will help reduce the need to spend even more money trying to find people who don't fill out the forms.
According to the bureau, it costs around $85 million in follow-up efforts to raise the response rate by just 1%. The bureau says sending workers door-to-door costs more than $3,000 a pop.
Here's how the census bureau does the math:
The mailings increase response by 6% to12% percent. A 1 percent increased response saves $85 million in follow-up expenses, which means an estimated savings of between $510 million and $1.02 billion.
With those numbers, the U.S. Census Bureau says the savings in higher response more than pays for the costs of all those advance letters.
The forms coming this month will have only 10 questions. They will not ask for your Social Security number or your bank or credit card information.
The deadline for returning your Census form April 1.
2010.census.gov
It's a reminder about the upcoming census where the government counts the people in every household in the country.
But the letters are causing quite an uproar because they don't ask any census questions. In fact, they don't ask any questions at all. They're just reminders -- at a cost of $57 million.
The Census Bureau just sent out 120 million advance mailings, aimed at getting response from as many households as possible when the actual 2010 Census forms are mailed within the next week.
The letters, from U.S. Census Director Robert Groves, read in part:
"Dear Resident: About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly."
With a constitutional mandate to count every one in every household in the country, the Census Bureau says the advance mailings will help reach the nearly 1 in 2 Americans who still don't know it's census time.
Seattle resident Eileen Tripp says it makes sense.
"I think a lot of people who resent the idea that they're sending out the mailers are not really the ones that this is targeted for," said Tripp.
As a residential building manager, Tripp says the letters make sense, especially after what she saw during Census 2000.
"I had one census taker come out like five times, and verify the residence of some of the people in the building, simply because the residents were either too busy or they weren't in town. If this can save even a few trips, it's a good deal," said Tripp.
Based on what the Problem Solvers found in discussions with random consumers, Tripp may have a point. One woman revealed that her 40-something, born-in-the-USA husband, asked "What's a census?" A few 20-somethings living on their own, had a vague idea of the census but had not seen or heard the news reports or public service announcements about the forms being mailed this month.
Add the thousands of households with language barriers, and privacy concerns, and transient occupants, the bureau says a lot of people who should be counted, can fall through the cracks. That's lost money for services in the community.
"As many as 45% of Americans are unaware that this month is when the Census starts," the Census Bureau said in a statement to KOMO News. "That's probably due to the fact we only do a Census once every 10 years. Based on historical response rates, we expect roughly two thirds of households will mail back their form. The rest we will have to send an enumerator to collect the data required by the Constitution. You can imagine that follow-up is an expensive proposition."
Census administrators say the advance notices will help reduce the need to spend even more money trying to find people who don't fill out the forms.
According to the bureau, it costs around $85 million in follow-up efforts to raise the response rate by just 1%. The bureau says sending workers door-to-door costs more than $3,000 a pop.
Here's how the census bureau does the math:
The mailings increase response by 6% to12% percent. A 1 percent increased response saves $85 million in follow-up expenses, which means an estimated savings of between $510 million and $1.02 billion.
With those numbers, the U.S. Census Bureau says the savings in higher response more than pays for the costs of all those advance letters.
The forms coming this month will have only 10 questions. They will not ask for your Social Security number or your bank or credit card information.
The deadline for returning your Census form April 1.
2010.census.gov