ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
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Post by ripvanwinkle on Feb 3, 2020 23:15:21 GMT -5
Today on my way home I tuned the radio and came across a talk show. The topic was the census. One of the points made was now that almost all data they need is available on the internet due to everything being tracked in some way or another. Info on your home, income, credit reports, credit scores, purchases, your kids schools and a whole lot more.
I really don't remember ever having anyone come to my house and asking me questions or ever getting anything in the mail to fill out. They made a good argument to hire a data search company to search all this data and compile it since it's on the internet already.
Nothing is private anymore.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Feb 3, 2020 23:22:31 GMT -5
Today on my way home I tuned the radio and came across a talk show. The topic was the census. One of the points made was now that almost all data they need is available on the internet due to everything being tracked in some way or another. Info on your home, income, credit reports, credit scores, purchases, your kids schools and a whole lot more.
I really don't remember ever having anyone come to my house and asking me questions or ever getting anything in the mail to fill out. They made a good argument to hire a data search company to search all this data and compile it since it's on the internet already.
Nothing is private anymore. I thought I would need an official birth certificate to begin collecting Social Security and then Medicare when I became of age. So I ordered it. Little did I know the government had so much information about me when I signed up for both on-line. Signing up for both literally took like three minutes for each thing and I was all set.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 3, 2020 23:32:49 GMT -5
Today on my way home I tuned the radio and came across a talk show. The topic was the census. One of the points made was now that almost all data they need is available on the internet due to everything being tracked in some way or another. Info on your home, income, credit reports, credit scores, purchases, your kids schools and a whole lot more.
I really don't remember ever having anyone come to my house and asking me questions or ever getting anything in the mail to fill out. They made a good argument to hire a data search company to search all this data and compile it since it's on the internet already.
Nothing is private anymore. I thought I would need an official birth certificate to begin collecting Social Security and then Medicare when I became of age. So I ordered it. Little did I know the government had so much information about me when I signed up for both on-line. Signing up for both literally took like three minutes for each thing and I was all set. I had to produce my birth certificate. In addition I had to produce the marriage records that explained the name change. It’s a good thing I already had my birth certificate because it was right after Katrina and it was taking 6 months to get vital records from New Orleans
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 3, 2020 23:33:45 GMT -5
There are plenty of people whose lifestyle is such that there is very little infirmation on them online
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Tennesseer
Member Emeritus
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Post by Tennesseer on Feb 3, 2020 23:45:11 GMT -5
There are plenty of people whose lifestyle is such that there is very little infirmation on them online I was a bit amazed of all data the government had on me. Not surprised just the amount of data.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Feb 4, 2020 6:58:58 GMT -5
The government has a lot of information, but where you live is one that is hard to keep up with if you move.
I do think the government spends way too much time and money on census. There are better ways of estimating population. I know there are some numbers of transients that are hard to count, but I believe those numbers would be consistent across areas. And every area always claims undercounting. If everyone is undercounted, then representative apportionment should still be fair.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 4, 2020 10:35:24 GMT -5
The government has a lot of information, but where you live is one that is hard to keep up with if you move. I do think the government spends way too much time and money on census. There are better ways of estimating population. I know there are some numbers of transients that are hard to count, but I believe those numbers would be consistent across areas. And every area always claims undercounting. If everyone is undercounted, then representative apportionment should still be fair. As a genealogist, I LOVE census records..... Old census records are pretty amazing considering the fact that women had few records in their names. The only record I have for some of my female ancestors is their names on census records.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Feb 4, 2020 10:58:13 GMT -5
The government has a lot of information, but where you live is one that is hard to keep up with if you move. I do think the government spends way too much time and money on census. There are better ways of estimating population. I know there are some numbers of transients that are hard to count, but I believe those numbers would be consistent across areas. And every area always claims undercounting. If everyone is undercounted, then representative apportionment should still be fair. As a genealogist, I LOVE census records..... Old census records are pretty amazing considering the fact that women had few records in their names. The only record I have for some of my female ancestors is their names on census records. My paternal grandfather's brother was born around 1890 in Massachusetts. 1890 and 1900 census confirms the state where he was born. The brother later had a falling out with his birth family and moved to Colorado. After the move he told everyone, including the 1940 census, he was born in France. The same paternal grandfather born in 1886 in Massachusetts shows his birth name as Arthur Edward on the 1890 census. By the 1900 census he is listed as Edward Arthur. On his 1917 WWI military draft form he lists his name as Arthur Edward. And after that on census and other forms he is foreever listed as Edward Arthur. All info from Ancestry.com.
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Gardening Grandma
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Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:39:46 GMT -5
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 4, 2020 11:03:01 GMT -5
As a genealogist, I LOVE census records..... Old census records are pretty amazing considering the fact that women had few records in their names. The only record I have for some of my female ancestors is their names on census records. My paternal grandfather's brother was born around 1890 in Massachusetts. 1890 and 1900 census confirms the state where he was born. The brother later had a falling out with his birth family and moved to Colorado. After the move he told everyone, including the 1940 census, he was born in France. The same paternal grandfather born in 1886 in Massachusetts shows his birth name as Arthur Edward on the 1890 census. By the 1900 census he is listed as Edward Arthur. On his 1917 WWI military draft form he lists his name as Arthur Edward. And after that on census and other forms he is foreever listed as Edward Arthur. All info from Ancestry.com. Ah yes. My gr-gr-grandmother got younger each year... In the 1870 census she was "38". In the 1880 census she was only 40! (She married a man younger than she was and didn't want anyone to know she was older - at least I think that's the explanation
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Feb 4, 2020 11:05:55 GMT -5
Today on my way home I tuned the radio and came across a talk show. The topic was the census. One of the points made was now that almost all data they need is available on the internet due to everything being tracked in some way or another. Info on your home, income, credit reports, credit scores, purchases, your kids schools and a whole lot more.
I really don't remember ever having anyone come to my house and asking me questions or ever getting anything in the mail to fill out. They made a good argument to hire a data search company to search all this data and compile it since it's on the internet already.
Nothing is private anymore. I thought I would need an official birth certificate to begin collecting Social Security and then Medicare when I became of age. So I ordered it. Little did I know the government had so much information about me when I signed up for both on-line. Signing up for both literally took like three minutes for each thing and I was all set. Yeah, but you might need it to get a real ID. I went will all kinds of documents, but because I took my passport, I think they only looked at Passport, SS Card and Existing DL. I received the new ID in the mail in less than a week. I went last Wednesday and received it in the mail yesterday.
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Tennesseer
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Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
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Post by Tennesseer on Feb 4, 2020 11:11:19 GMT -5
My paternal grandfather's brother was born around 1890 in Massachusetts. 1890 and 1900 census confirms the state where he was born. The brother later had a falling out with his birth family and moved to Colorado. After the move he told everyone, including the 1940 census, he was born in France. The same paternal grandfather born in 1886 in Massachusetts shows his birth name as Arthur Edward on the 1890 census. By the 1900 census he is listed as Edward Arthur. On his 1917 WWI military draft form he lists his name as Arthur Edward. And after that on census and other forms he is foreever listed as Edward Arthur. All info from Ancestry.com. Ah yes. My gr-gr-grandmother got younger each year... In the 1870 census she was "38". In the 1880 census she was only 40! (She married a man younger than she was and didn't want anyone to know she was older - at least I think that's the explanation The great-uncle who recreated himself and told everyone he was born in France reminds me of the Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
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Tennesseer
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Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
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Post by Tennesseer on Feb 4, 2020 11:18:58 GMT -5
I thought I would need an official birth certificate to begin collecting Social Security and then Medicare when I became of age. So I ordered it. Little did I know the government had so much information about me when I signed up for both on-line. Signing up for both literally took like three minutes for each thing and I was all set. Yeah, but you might need it to get a real ID. I went will all kinds of documents, but because I took my passport, I think they only looked at Passport, SS Card and Existing DL. I received the new ID in the mail in less than a week. I went last Wednesday and received it in the mail yesterday. Because I did order and have on hand an official embossed birth certificate, it was a breeze getting my Real ID this past August. What I dreaded was going to the DMV because the facilities were so antiquated and usually took several hours to get whatever you needed to get done. To my surprise. They had modernized the DMZ and from the time I left home for the DMV to the time got back home was like 50 minutes. Sweet!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Feb 4, 2020 11:35:00 GMT -5
Yeah, but you might need it to get a real ID. I went will all kinds of documents, but because I took my passport, I think they only looked at Passport, SS Card and Existing DL. I received the new ID in the mail in less than a week. I went last Wednesday and received it in the mail yesterday. Because I did order and have on hand an official embossed birth certificate, it was a breeze getting my Real ID this past August. What I dreaded was going to the DMV because the facilities were so antiquated and usually took several hours to get whatever you needed to get done. To my surprise. They had modernized the DMZ and from the time I left home for the DMV to the time got back home was like 50 minutes. Sweet! My sister had a passport but still had to show her marriage license because apparently she never changed her name with Social Security. Luckily, she got her marriage license at the same courthouse where she was getting the Real ID.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 5, 2020 9:37:20 GMT -5
Today on my way home I tuned the radio and came across a talk show. The topic was the census. One of the points made was now that almost all data they need is available on the internet due to everything being tracked in some way or another. Info on your home, income, credit reports, credit scores, purchases, your kids schools and a whole lot more.
I really don't remember ever having anyone come to my house and asking me questions or ever getting anything in the mail to fill out. They made a good argument to hire a data search company to search all this data and compile it since it's on the internet already.
Nothing is private anymore. In 2000, I read a long dissertation about how wrong the census was and how statistical models would be a better way. Unfortunately, the constitution requires a count of people. Right now they have a pretty narrow description of what a count is. I don't see the current Republican party, nor the current Supreme Court redefining 'count' anytime soon, as I believe the current system benefits them. I also wouldn't be super confident a data search company would be more accurate. The people on the margins would have the least records. There could be 5,000 people named John Smith or Maria Martinez. It would be easy to count them as 4,000 people without a lot of good records. Maybe they are working under the table. Maybe they don't have a lease. Maybe they don't have any credit. Maybe they pay cash for everything. Maybe they don't have kids. I'm not sure all 5,000 Joes and Marias are being counted now - but I'm not sure they will be counted with another method either.
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