Sure, the form includes the word “Negro,” but Census Bureau Director Robert Groves has apologized “on behalf of all my colleagues.”
An accurate count is important. It’s about the money:
The accuracy of the 2010 Census will determine the geographic distribution of a substantial proportion of federal assistance, particularly in the form of grants, over the coming decade. In FY2008, 215 federal domestic assistance programs used census-related data to guide the distribution of $446.7 billion, 31 percent of all federal assistance. Census-guided grants accounted for $419.8 billion, 75 percent of all federal grant funding.
The bulk of census-guided federal assistance goes to state governments through a handful of large formula grant programs to aid low-income households and support highway infrastructure. Medicaid alone accounts for 58 percent of census-guided funding. In general,census-guided funding is highly concentrated in a small number of programs,recipients states), departments, and budget functions.
So if you want to ensure your community gets its fair share of federal assistance, none of that “crazy hand jive.” Mail your form back.
