Cities Misuse Census

It is interesting to see that the release of preliminary census figures brings protests from communities that profit by having higher numbers. It is much like a political rally in which police estimate crowd size at 20,000 while the candidate claims 50,000.

In a population in excess of 240 million, it does not seem possible to count every individual. As a temporary census employee, I can attest that great effort was expended to get an accurate count.

However, a certain percentage of forms were not returned. Another segment showed a lack of understanding of the questions, while a third group felt that even the short form was too intrusive and returned the forms with “none of your business” scrawled across them. Workers made follow-up efforts, but not every effort was successful.

Probably the count of homeless was inaccurate, but which community should be credited with the ones who were identified? With police and community leaders driving them from Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and other areas, do those communities now claim the numbers for fiscal reasons? Costa Mesa most notably has tried to prevent this group from seeking employment or even receiving help from private agencies.

Why, then, do these same communities ask for a count of those people in order to receive more funding? Perhaps their purpose is to use the funding for more police to harass these underclasses of society.

RAY BRACY

Tustin