03/16/10 - Lakeland Times: There's much at stake with the 2010 Census, by Niel Ritchie
There's much at stake with the 2010 Census
By Niel Ritchie
Ten questions that can be completed in 10 minutes - the U.S. Census doesn't sound like much but its importance can't be overstated: In 2008, the last year for which data is available, Wisconsin received more than $6 billion based on the decennial headcount, accounting for a fifth of the state's annual revenue.
According to a report out this week by the Brookings Institution, more than $400 billion in federal funds for 215 programs will be tied to data collected in the 2010 Census.
When stimulus package dollars are added in, the overall tally tops a half trillion. Health care represents the largest allotment by far, but also on that list are such things as economic development grants, energy assistance, transportation projects, and education and job-training programs.
And every person counts.
As the report's authors note: "To illustrate the fiscal impact of decennial census accuracy, each additional person included in the Census 2000 resulted in an annual additional Medicaid reimbursement to most states of between several hundred and several thousand dollars."
A complete count of people living in the United States is constitutionally mandated every decade and participation is required by law, yet thousands of Wisconsinites nonetheless are missed. In 2000 nearly 38,000 residents went uncounted, amounting to a loss of millions over the 10-year-life of each census.
For some that likely was a choice: Citing fear of government and disinterest overall among their reasons why, as many as one in five nationwide plan not to fill out the form this year.
"In a time of very tight state budgets communities can't afford to lose funding for housing, education, transportation, health care - all the programs that are supported in large part on population counts," Barbara Ronningen, demographer with the Minnesota Demographic Center, said. "We need to capture those numbers to ensure we have the services that are needed."
Rural residents are among those at greatest risk for going uncounted, a fearsome reality for states like Wisconsin already struck hard by tough economic times.
"Rural areas need to have a voice, and that voice is found in numbers: The higher the population the louder the voice," Dennis Johnson, regional director with the Census Bureau, said. "The Census is about fairness and equality, and the further we get from an accurate count the less equality we will have."
But more than just federal funds are at stake.
Census data determine how many seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used by a wide range of agencies, businesses and nonprofits to promote jobs growth and better serve their communities.
Census questionnaires will begin arriving next week and are due back by April 1. Whether Wisconsin gets its fair share of federal funds is up to us.
lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=11&SubSectionID=11&ArticleID=11099&TM=50836.53
