Census hiring blitz of 750,000 to cut jobless rate, offer boost to Obama

Census hiring blitz of 750,000 to cut jobless rate, boost to Obama
By GottaLaff 750,000 is nothing to sneeze at: The U.S. Census Bureau expects to add up to 750,000 workers to its payroll by May, a hiring binge that could knock the Unemployment rate down by as much as a half-point. The once-a-decade Census is coming at the best possible time for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats , who have taken political lumps for more than a year over a jobless rate that stands at 9.7 percent. [...] “ This is the best-timed Census you could ever...

Obama's Army? White House Hiring 750,000 Workers to Do Census
The U.S. Census Bureau expects to add up to 750,000 workers to its payroll by May, a hiring binge that could knock the Unemployment rate down by as much as a half-point.   The once-a-decade Census is coming at the best possible time for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, who have taken political lumps for more than a year over a jobless rate that stands at 9.7 percent.   Some think the administration will get good news as soon as the next monthly labor report, which...

Unemployment: the numbers game
Just as we’ve seen “good news” about the economy claimed in quarters when Government Spending (“Cash for Clunkers”) and inventory restocking drove the positive numbers, now we’re being told that a raft of temporary jobs might be a positive sign for the Unemployment numbers: The U.S. Census Bureau expects to add up to 750,000 workers to its payroll by May, a hiring binge that could knock the Unemployment rate down by as much as a half-point. The once-a-decade...

Queer the Census
We know it's a little clichéd - but here's what we want to tell the Census: We're here. We're queer. And we want you to ask us about it. It's crazy - the U.S. Census Bureau wants an accurate count of everyone in the country - but there's no question in the survey that asks if you are lesbian, Gay, bisexual or Transgender. You read that right: LGBT people are basically invisible in the survey that is supposed to reflect the diversity of America's population - and that's a big problem. The...

House bans misleading census mailings
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House has passed legislation that would ban misleading mailings designed to appear they're from the Census Bureau. The 416-0 vote Wednesday follows criticism that Republican groups were sending Fundraising letters using the Census name. Under the bill, mailings marked "Census" will be required to state the name and address of the sender, along with an unambiguous disclaimer that the survey was not affiliated with the Federal Government. It now goes to the Senate. The...

Census "heads up" prompts questions
Census "heads up" prompts questions As "Census Day" approaches, the U.S. Census Bureau has come under fire for some of its edgier attempts to encourage people to respond to its mailings , and now, some have begun to take umbrage with standard technique - the advance letter. On National Review's The Corner, John J. Miller questions the mailing itself while Bill S. on RedState writes , "I'm having a difficult time deciding if this letter is: 1. Supposed to be helpful or informative in some...

120 Million Households to Begin Receiving 2010 Census Advance Letter
The U.S. Census Bureau today began mailing advance letters to about 120 million addresses nationwide, notifying households that 2010 Census forms will be arriving March 15-17. The one-page letter urges households to complete the 10-question Census form when it arrives and to return it in the accompanying prepaid envelope as soon as possible. “The advance letter helps people know that their 2010 Census form will be arriving soon,” said Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves....

re: Your Government at Work -- By: John J. Miller
The marketing geniuses at the Census Bureau tackle the kiddie undercount: On Tuesday, the Census Bureau will launch a campaign stressing the importance of counting infants and young children on the forms. As part of Children Count Too, Nickelodeon will broadcast a promotional spot featuring the children's character Dora the Explorer. Census officials say children are undercounted because people in hard-to-count groups, including immigrants and Minorities, tend to have more children in...

Study details aid based on Census
Financially battered states get about 20% of their money from federal funds, so they're paying special attention to the Census this month. The more people are counted, the more money they'll see. The Census Bureau began sending 120 million letters Monday to alert people that the 2010 Census form will arrive in their mailboxes next week. As the word spreads, a study out today details how $447 billion in federal aid was distributed to states, counties and cities based on population data. In...

Editorial: On the Importance of Being Counted
In mid-March, the Census Bureau will mail Census forms to the nation’s 134 million households. With 10 questions, the form is one of the shortest in the history of the decennial count, dating back to 1790. But will people fill it out and mail it back? They should. As civic duties go, filling out the 2010 Census will certainly be less demanding than, say, filing a tax return or serving on a jury. Yet, the Census has detractors — including several vocal conservative pundits and some...

Oops! There goes $10 billion in waste.
The first US Census, two-plus centuries ago, cost 24 cents a person.  The 20oo Census cost about $16 per person.  This year it will cost $48.  That's $15 billion, thanks to waste and incompetence. In March 2008, federal auditors designated this year's Census a "high-risk area" of federal spending. Among the reasons: weak management of Census Bureau purchases, including computers and software, and inaccurate cost estimates. Adding to that expense, The...

Households get heads-up about 2010 Census
WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- An estimated 120 million U.S. households will receive a notice this week that their 2010 Census forms are about to arrive, Census officials said. A letter mailed Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau says the Census forms will be arriving March 15-17. "It's an important reminder about the impact the Census has on our communities," Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said in a release. Advance notices boost mail-back rates, which saves taxpayers' money, Grove said. For...

Can't Get A Job After Law School? Try The Census Bureau
Meet Susan Williams. A year and a half ago, she was an associate at a small firm in Washington, D.C., specializing in food and drug law. She was Laid Off in November of 2008 and after more than four months of searching, was still jobless . So Williams, now 30, started working for the Census Bureau, according to The Washington Post . For sixteen weeks, she canvassed dormitories, shelters, and supervised other canvassers for $21.50 an hour. She now works in technology operations for the Census...

120 million begin receiving Census notification letter
Washington, DC (WSYR-TV) - The Census Bureau has begun mailing advance letters to about 120 million addresses nationwide, notifying people that forms for the 2010 Census will be arriving by mid-month. The one-page letter urges families to complete the 10-question Census form when it arrives and to return it in the accompanying prepaid envelope as soon as possible. "The advance letter helps people know that their 2010 Census form will be arriving soon," said Census Bureau Director...

120 Million Households to Begin Receiving 2010 Census Advance Letter -- WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau today began mailing advance letters to about 120 million addresses nationwide, notifying households that 2010 Census forms will be arriving March 15-17 . The one-page letter urges households to complete the 10-question Census form when it arrives and to return it in the accompanying prepaid envelope as soon as possible. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO )

Marcia Dawkins: 2010 Census: Stressed Out of the Box
Robert M. Groves , Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, sent me a letter today. Mr. Groves told me that my 2010 Census form will be arriving sometime next week and that my "response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities and many other programs." According to the Bureau, Census data directly affect how more than $200 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated....

Ron Paul to Census Bureau: 'None of Your Business!'
Libertarian hero and small government crusader Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a message for the Census Bureau: "None of your business." In his weekly column for constituents , Paul writes that the only question the Census Bureau has the constitutional right to ask Americans is, "How many people live here?" Anything more than that, the congressman says, is an invasive expansion of government power. "It is not hard to imagine that information compiled by the Census could be used against people in...

On the Census
Reading our site here and the right-leaning blogosphere there is a lot of anxiety out there about the 2010 decennial Census. During the 2000 decennial I was an employee of the Census Bureau, I don’t put that out as a boast or qualification but rather in the interests of full disclosure, and I’d like to give you my perspective. The Census is required by the Constitution. If fact, if one is a supporter of originalism it is actually one of the few domestic functions of the federal...

Understanding Poverty in America
oday, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual Poverty report. The report is expected to show an increase in Poverty in 2008 due to the onset of the Recession. It is no surprise that Poverty goes up in a Recession. What is surprising is that every year for nearly three decades, in good economic times and bad, Census has reported more than 30 million Americans living in Poverty. What does it mean to be “poor” in America? For the average reader, the word Poverty implies...

The "pre-Census" letter: Your tax dollars hard at work
Got home this afternoon, checked the mail, and what did I see? A letter from the Census Bureau informing me that … I’d be receiving the Census in about a week, along with a note that it was important that I fill it out. Are you kidding me? A friend of mine Tweeted last night that she got the letter. In fact, according to the CB itself , approximately 120,000,000 US residents will receive the same letter: Early Notification Increases Awareness That Census Forms Will Arrive Soon ...

How Poor Are America's Poor? Examining the "Plague" of Poverty in America
Poverty is an important and emotional issue. Last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on Poverty in the United States declaring that there were 37 million poor persons living in this country in 2005, roughly the same number as in the preceding years. [4] According to the Census report, 12.6 percent of Amer­icans were poor in 2005; this number has varied from 11.3 percent to 15.1 percent of the population over the past 20 years. [5] To understand Poverty in America, it is...

Half of U.S. docs reach age 65 by 2020 - Less doctors... more patients projected
Washington (March 8, 2010) A new Workforce study from the Association of America’s Medical Colleges (AAMC) states that the number of Primary Care physicians practicing in the U.S. has declined by almost 20,000 doctors in the two years since the last AAMC study. During the same time frame, the U.S. Census Bureau says the U.S. population has grown by 4.7 million patients. Sources at The American Medical Association “Masterfile” reported this week 375,146 active physicians are...

U.S. Census Has 'Policy of Self-Identification' for Same-Sex Couples
(CNSNews.com) - What kind of questions are going to be on the U.S. Census form? Just ten “basic” questions, says the U.S. Census Bureau. And on a question about relationships, same-sex couples may go with personal preference rather than truth.   According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger , the 2010 Census form will allow same-sex couples to labels themselves as “husband or wife,” even if the relationships are not recognized by law.   "We have a policy of...

Mich. jobless rate down slightly to 14.3 percent in January; rate relatively stable since July
LANSING, MICH. — Michigan's Unemployment rate hasn't changed much since the middle of last year, state officials said Tuesday. The state's seasonally adjusted January jobless rate was 14.3 percent, down from a revised 14.5 percent in December. The jobless rate has remained fairly stable since July, ranging from 14.2 percent to 14.5 percent, based on recently revised statistics. The revisions, which occur nationwide, generally lowered the official monthly statewide Unemployment rates...

Feds Waste Money With Pre-Census Census Heads Up Mailing
The Census is coming. And just to make sure you know it, the Government is sending out, no not the Census document, but a pre-Census Census heads up mailing telling you all about it. Leave it to our Federal Government to find ways to waste money and send two mailings instead of one paying twice the postage.