By Andrea Holbrook
Do you know what the census is? The census helps create an estimation of the U.S. population and it helps the government determine how much federal funds go to states for schools, roads, and other public services.
The Census Bureau has set to follow up on each household in the U.S. between Aug. 11 and Sept. 30, 2020. You can still fill out the census for where you lived on April 1 here.
Shondolyn Lagdameo, a 49-year-old veteran, says she thinks the census is important. “If they use it the way they are supposed to use it, which is to evaluate the different communities in our neighborhoods to see what the needs are and to see where to put the money that comes into the government,” Lagdameo says, “so that they can help those who really need the help and not indulge the rich.”
She was also asked if she thinks the census is conducted enough. “Things change a lot especially now that we have introduced technology,” she says. “I think it should be lowered to every five years. It’s just our rate of change in life with the introduction of technology. It’s just bananas because that rate of change is so fast with the changes.”
Lagdameo believes ten years isn’t frequent enough because “that’s a whole decade.” She says the country is behind the curve at that point.
Some people have argued about the true importance of the census. Kenia Valdez, 19-year-old entrepreneur says she thinks the Census is biased because it asks for race.
“Because, I mean, if we’re supposed to be equal, why does it matter what our race is if we’re all human?” Valdez says.
Valdez says the reason the census is conducted, like many things, boils down to a money-issue. “Money is everything in this world. Everything is run by money, everything is literally controlled by the government and that is how they want it,” Valdez says. “They want to know how many people are here and why they’re here.”
Nadeen Holbrook, 38-year-old business owner, says she thinks the census is used by the government to find refugee immigrants. Holbrook says she believes “the president is putting them in camps and deporting them.”
“So, if you’re reporting that there are illegal people in your household on the census; the census basically asks how many citizens and how many undocumented immigrants live in your house,” Holbrook says. “If you put the undocumented immigrants that live in your household on the census eventually they will come to tag them and take them away from their families.”
Overall, even though some people disagree on the importance of the census, it’s certain that the census has a major impact on decisions the U.S. government makes.