For Media
News Release
July 20, 2000
Census questions invade privacy of Americans, Cato scholar testifies
As the 2000 census nears completion, Congress is holding hearings on whether to conduct a rolling survey each year instead of using the census long form. But far more important is whether the federal government has the right to collect detailed information on the American people, Cato Institute Director of Regulatory Studies Edward L. Hudgins told the Committee on Government Reform's Census Subcommittee today.
"It is clear that the Constitution authorizes the federal government to 'enumerate' persons in order to apportion congressional representatives among the states. That implies that the government need know only how many individuals reside at a given residence, which is the question on the first page of the census," says Hudgins. "But the 53 questions in the long form ask us about matters that have nothing remotely to do with apportioning votes. We are asked for a detailed breakdown of our income (#31-32). We are asked about how we get to work (#23) and when we leave and how long our trips are (#24). We are asked detailed questions about our employment (#25-30). We are asked the infamous question about how many toilets we have (#39). And we are asked how much we pay annually for electricity, gas, water, sewers, oil, coal, kerosene, and wood (#45)."
The Census Bureau says the information is needed for communities to get financial assistance and to plan for police, education, fire protection and other services. But Hudgins argues that "without census data to justify their policies, political elites would have a difficult time deceiving the public about the need for those policies and directing the lives of citizens and their civic institutions."
Whether this information is obtained once every 10 years or as part of a rolling survey every year, the issue is still whether such details are any of the government's business. "The federal government has embarked on the most massive invasion of privacy in the country's history," Hudgins says. "Many Americans see that pattern and thus, understandably, are reluctant to hand over to an intrusive government the information requested on the census."
"The federal government should eliminate most of the questions on the census, retaining only those few, maybe only one, necessary to exercise the constitutional mandate to enumerate the population every decade for the purpose of assigning electoral votes," he concludes.
The complete
text of Hudgins' testimony
| Index of News Releases | Cato Institute Home |
© 1999 The Cato Institute