Seeks others who oppose survey

It started around April 1 when we received a 28-page American Community Survey in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau. We opened the survey and began answering the questions. We weren’t too far into the task before the questions began troubling us.

While we are willing to provide basic information, such as the number of people living at our address, we are not willing to share the personal and private information required by this intrusive survey.

How many other families in Alaska have received this survey? We would like to know. If you have received the 28-page survey and object to completing it, we’d like to talk to you. We’d like to unite together with our neighbors and fight this massive intrusion into our private lives by the federal government.

Contact us at quadpaws@hotmail.com.

So far, we’ve received two copies of the survey, which say answering the survey is mandatory and failing to complete it is punishable by $100 fine and providing false information is a $500 fine.

We wish to be exempted from the American Community Survey because it is unconstitutional, a violation of our civil rights and we plead the Fifth Amendment. We feel it is our duty to demand that elected officials respect and defend the freedoms our Constitution guarantees!

According to the U.S. Constitution, a census is authorized once every 10 years. We reviewed our copy of the Constitution and saw no amendments that altered the frequency of the Census (Article 1, Section 2, clause 3).

Furthermore, the Fourth Amendment guarantees our right to be secure. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

If a census taker arrives on our property, we will give them the number of occupants at this residence. They will be required to show HIPAA certification and read us our Miranda Warning, also.

And here are some of the questions:

• Phone number, including area code.

• Sex.

• Age and birth date.

• If I am of Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin.

• My race.

• What type of house I live in.

• When my house was built (year).

• How large is the lot?

• How many separate rooms are in this house, apartment or mobile home?

• How many of these rooms are bedrooms?

• Do I have: hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, bathtub or shower, sink with a faucet, stove or range, refrigerator, telephone service?

• What fuel is used to heat this house, apartment or mobile home?

• What was the cost of electricity last month?

• What was the cost of gas last month?

• What was the cost of water and sewer for the past 12 months?

• Did I receive Food Stamps?

• Do I own this house free and clear?

• Do I rent?

• Do I occupy without rent?

• What is the monthly rent for this house, apartment or mobile home?

• What is the annual property and flood insurance?

• How much is the regular monthly mortgage?

• Do I have a second mortgage on this property?

• How much are the monthly payments on all second and junior mortgages?

• Where I was born?

• Am I a citizen?

• Have I attended college or school in the last three months?

• What is my highest degree or level of school completed?

• If I have a bachelor’s degree, what is it in?

• What is my ancestry or ethnic origin?

• Do I speak any other languages besides English at home?

• How well do I speak English?

• Did I live here one year ago?

• Do I have health insurance?

• Do I have difficulty hearing or am I blind?

• Do I have difficulty doing physical, mental, or emotional conditions that make it difficult for me to do errands alone, such as shopping or visiting a doctor’s office?

• Am I married?

• Did I get married, widowed, or divorced in the last 12 months?

• How many times have I been married?

• Am I a grandparent responsible for a grandchild living here?

• How long have I been responsible for the grandchildren?

• What is that rating?

• Did I work for pay last week at a business?

• Last week did I do any work for pay?

• How did I get to work last week?

• How many minutes does it usually take?

• Who was my most recent job with?

• What kind of work do I do?

• What are my most important activities or duties?

• What are my wages for the last 12 months?

• What is my self-employment income for the last 12 months?

• What are my social security or Railroad retirement amounts?

• What are my Supplemental Social Security Income amounts?

• Did I receive any public assistance or welfare payments from state or local welfare offices?

• If so, how much?

• What was my total income in the last 12 months?

To our shock, there is no question about capital gains.

The federal government is supposed to do an accurate headcount every 10 years to allocate representatives for Congress. Our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are not irrelevant, regardless of what they would like to have us believe.

As we said, we will not complete this survey, beyond reporting the number of people currently living at our residence. If that affects the fire stations, libraries and schools in a negative way, so be it. But the rest of the information is personal.

Geraldine, Robert and Judith Goodman are Palmer residents.