ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Wouldn't that also mean you could never be eligible for SS and Medicare?
Yeah, some people seem to take their frustrations out with government on the wrong people.
Census - Is this it?
- Thread starter Red Rover
- Start date
Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
A few weeks ago, an Illinois census worker tracked me down while I was working in the back yard. She asked me if I was the owner, how old DW and I are, whether we rent or own, and also if we have a mortgage. Then she asked me what race DW and I are.
Yesterday at work I got a phone call from an Az census worker saying that she was trying to track me down at my condo. She asked if I owned or rented. I told her I owned and I spend little time there in the summer. She asked if I was at the condo or at home on April 1. I told her I was in Il. So she marked me down as a seasonal Az resident. She also asked me if I filled out the census at my main residence, and asked for my main residence address and phone number. She probably knew that already - she tracked down my work phone number from an online people search site
Yesterday at work I got a phone call from an Az census worker saying that she was trying to track me down at my condo. She asked if I owned or rented. I told her I owned and I spend little time there in the summer. She asked if I was at the condo or at home on April 1. I told her I was in Il. So she marked me down as a seasonal Az resident. She also asked me if I filled out the census at my main residence, and asked for my main residence address and phone number. She probably knew that already - she tracked down my work phone number from an online people search site
The extra mailings increase response rates.
When I was rush chairman for my Fraternity, we did a mass mailing to all of the new engineering students each summer.
After I read a book on marketing, I decided to do a second basically identical mailing. I changed the color of the paper from white to off white because the marketing book suggested that. I found that that I got almost as many additional responses from the second mailing as I did from the first.
Intuitively, you wouldn't think that mailing the same letter to the same people twice would almost double your response rate, but it often does.
Direct mail marketing is all about repetition. And at the core, that is really what the census is. A marketing campaign to get people to fill out a questionaire.
When I was rush chairman for my Fraternity, we did a mass mailing to all of the new engineering students each summer.
After I read a book on marketing, I decided to do a second basically identical mailing. I changed the color of the paper from white to off white because the marketing book suggested that. I found that that I got almost as many additional responses from the second mailing as I did from the first.
Intuitively, you wouldn't think that mailing the same letter to the same people twice would almost double your response rate, but it often does.
Direct mail marketing is all about repetition. And at the core, that is really what the census is. A marketing campaign to get people to fill out a questionaire.
Make that a triple mailing (to date). I got a postcard yesterday, with the single line (in 6 languages, none of which appear to be German or Polish, which I thought was odd) "For help completing your 2010 Census form, call toll free 1-866-872-6868".
Of course, this same info, in just two languages though, is on the very form we are supposed to fill out. Not sure what this extra mailing is supposed to do, or why the extra languages (if needed) were not included with the form.
Since I'll be waiting until after April 1st, in order to provide the best accuracy that they say is so important (
-ERD50
I think the basic questions that the census asks are pretty reasonable. I don't have any large privacy concerns with it.
The last time around I ignored the mailings until they sent someone in person with a much longer form. That form was intrusive, and they asked a number of questions I felt were none of the government's business (medical related questions).
The questions reached a point where I just refused to answer and kicked the census taker out of my apartment.
The last time around I ignored the mailings until they sent someone in person with a much longer form. That form was intrusive, and they asked a number of questions I felt were none of the government's business (medical related questions).
The questions reached a point where I just refused to answer and kicked the census taker out of my apartment.
