Friday, April 30, 2010
Thanks, Williamsburg: NY May Get Screwed With Census
Thanks to some people who maybe thought the Census wasn't worth their precious time, New York may end up losing congressional seats. New York is one of five states trailing in census participation, along with California, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
Though population trends suggest New York will fall just above the cutoff for the last number of House seats, the state may end up losing one to two seats due to low Census participation. Other states will either gain fewer seats or keep the number they have despite population growth.
The common denominator for all five states is a large Latino population, which the Census bureau worried would not participate. National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials director Arturo Vargas says the government didn't do enough to let Latinos know the Census was confidential. "I'm incredibly disappointed with the Obama administration in their efforts to promote the census. It may have the impact of shooting people in the foot if Arizona ends up losing out on a House seat."
New York may not be down a seat yet. The Census Bureau is preparing to send over 600,000 workers—getting paid up to $25 an hour—to count door to door. They're currently being briefed on how to be courteous if homeowners won't comply, and what kind of answers to record. Sorry, it turns out "American" isn't an acceptable answer for race. Census Bureau director Robert Groves noted that most of households which didn't participate with the mail-in forms were lower income (how do they know?!), but said, "For those of you who haven't been counted in the 2010 census, this is your moment." And if you're in the market for a new can opener, now's your chance.
http://gothamist.com/2010/04/29/thanks_williamsburg_ny_may_get_scre.php
Though population trends suggest New York will fall just above the cutoff for the last number of House seats, the state may end up losing one to two seats due to low Census participation. Other states will either gain fewer seats or keep the number they have despite population growth.
The common denominator for all five states is a large Latino population, which the Census bureau worried would not participate. National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials director Arturo Vargas says the government didn't do enough to let Latinos know the Census was confidential. "I'm incredibly disappointed with the Obama administration in their efforts to promote the census. It may have the impact of shooting people in the foot if Arizona ends up losing out on a House seat."
New York may not be down a seat yet. The Census Bureau is preparing to send over 600,000 workers—getting paid up to $25 an hour—to count door to door. They're currently being briefed on how to be courteous if homeowners won't comply, and what kind of answers to record. Sorry, it turns out "American" isn't an acceptable answer for race. Census Bureau director Robert Groves noted that most of households which didn't participate with the mail-in forms were lower income (how do they know?!), but said, "For those of you who haven't been counted in the 2010 census, this is your moment." And if you're in the market for a new can opener, now's your chance.
http://gothamist.com/2010/04/29/thanks_williamsburg_ny_may_get_scre.php
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