Census to scrap handheld computers for 2010 count

[lanlady]

Source: NextGov

The Census Bureau will tell a House panel today that it will drop plans to use handheld computers to help count Americans for the 2010 census, contributing to the increase in cost for the decennial census by as much as $3 billion, according to testimony the Commerce Department secretary plans to give this afternoon.

Comment on this article in The Forum."Today I am reporting to this committee that we will move forward with the recommendation to use a paper-based in the 2010 decennial census," according to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's testimony he plans to give to the House Appropriations Committee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and which Nextgov has obtained.

The recommendation to revert to paper came from an independent panel of experts Gutierrez formed last month. The task force included former House speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Neb., and former Census Bureau directors Kenneth Prewitt and Vincent Barabba. Gutierrez said a majority of panel members recommended moving forward with a paper-based census.

Read more: Census to scrap handheld computers for 2010 count

[Demeter]

1. Is This Good or Bad?

[SharonAnn]

2. Paper is better than flawed, inoperative, or misused electronics.

[Donnachaidh]

3. oh yeah, much better

you've got actual evidence to check back on. And electronics can break, or get fried, which can happen with ham-handed operators.

[klyon]

5. good

not possible to get workers up to speed
don't fix what ain't broken
the census can count the people that want counting
interesting experience I have helped in the past

[Cronus Protagonist]

4. I always avoid these census people

Can't stand the intrusion.

[klyon]

6. please rethink, this is important information

it is really no big deal to file out
even the long form takes very little time
by not participating your are denying your neighbors federal funds

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. They need to change the rules then

They know how many people there are in this country by other means. The census is not neccessary to simply count heads as the Constitution instructs. And in any csse, if all I had to do was answer "One person", I'd do it, but they want all kinds of intrusive information that I'm simply never going to hand over to a government official.

[frebrd]

7. Thought maybe I was the only one...

who felt that way. In the past, when they've gotten too intrusive I've almost been tempted to tell them the truth.

:)

[customerserviceguy]

12. Same here

I've ducked the last two censuses. If minorities are underrepresented in the census, then as a white male who's being undercounted, I help my brothers and sisters of color out just a little bit.

Besides, it's none of their fucking business who I am, where I live, or what the shit I do.

[Lance_Boyle]

9. They could do this whole thing MUCH cheaper if

they'd stick to counting people (as directed by the Constitution), and not insist on collecting tons of other data not pertinent to their constitutional role. The census does not exist to gather racial data, employment data, or any of the hundreds of other privacy invasions that have been added in. The job is to count people. How fucking hard, and how fucking expensive, is that?

[Robb]

10. Unfortunately, the Census has changed with funding

As the states got strapped, state demographers now have tiny budgets.

All that other info is vital to running government, at least on the state level, effectively. In the past, state demographers were darned good (on balance) at collecting information without invading privacy. Unfortunately, for years the answer when they ask for money from strapped state budgets was "get that info from the federal census so we don't have to pay for it."

[eppur_se_muova]

11. Deserves a xpost in Election Reform. K&R.