Sometime next month, Coloradans will find a Census 2010 form in their mailbox.
It’s just 10 questions long, and filling it out will take only minutes of your time. Completing the form and returning it is the right thing to do for your community.
Why should you care?
Getting an accurate count of the people in Colorado’s many communities is important for two vital government functions: the disbursement of more than $400 billion a year in federal money, and the drawing of legislative districts at the state and federal level.
Census numbers are used in federal grant formulas to apportion money for hospitals, roads, bridges and schools.
The Colorado Complete Count Committee estimates each person counted in Colorado brings in $880 annually, for a total of $4.27 billion. Being counted will help the state provide services for its residents. It’s also imperative that all people, regardless of immigration status, be counted since they are consuming services.
The Census does not ask about a person’s citizenship, which has been a controversial point at times. There are those who say the Census shouldn’t count those here illegally because those numbers are used for reapportioning Congressional seats.
We don’t think illegal immigrants ought to be counted in apportioning seats but — and this is an important but — we do not think the Census ought to be politicized or used as a proxy for appropriate immigrant policy and enforcement.
In short, Congress has to take the immigration problem head-on, separate from the Census.
Federal lawmakers need to adopt comprehensive immigration reform that includes strong border enforcement, an improved guest worker program, a vigorous employer-based verification system, and a path to legal status for contributing members of society.
If that happens, there should not be a significant number of people here illegally who could affect the redrawing of legislative districts.
The Census needs to remain as apolitical as possible so that local communities, which bear no culpability for the lack of effective federal immigration policy, are adequately compensated in serving the people who live and work there.
Turning in your complete Census form on time and by mail also will save money for the federal government.
Residents who do not return the form will be visited by Census workers, who are charged with fulfilling the constitutional mandate that every person be counted.
The follow-up visits are expensive in terms of personnel costs. Census officials estimate that for every percentage-point increase in the mail-in response rate, the federal government saves $90 million.
We hope that as Census forms arrive at homes around the state, Coloradans fulfill their civic duty by promptly completing and returning them.
