My Experiences as a Census Enumerator

 

My Experiences as a Census Enumerator 

I worked as a Census Enumerator, a paid job, for the U. S. Census Bureau (‘Bureau’) for the past two months in San José. Enumerators, also known as Census Takers, conduct research on behalf of the Bureau. They collect household and demographic information by canvassing their assigned areas. Enumerators must appropriately document and report the results they find to the Bureau.

This part-time job gave me a tremendous opportunity to get to better know my neighborhood, meet interesting people, learn their attitudes towards the U. S. government, in general, and census, in particular. Although most of the respondents (the populace) were friendly, I was a bit disappointed at the amount of Apathy, Racism Ignorance, and Disillusionment (ARID) that still persists in the neighborhoods I worked in—Almaden Valley, where I live, and Blossom Valley, my neighboring community. Remember, these are areas where the average home prices are about $1.48 million and $1 million, respectively. So, one would expect the residents to be middle- to upper-class with decent education, but I didn’t expect these attitudes from the residents.

 <digress>
In the software world of databases there are properties called ACID—Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability. In layman’s terms, suffice it to say that when you transfer money in a bank from your checking account to your savings account, or vice versa, these properties ensure your transaction either succeeds completely or fails completely. The transaction is done in isolation—no one else is messing with yours. Once the money transfer is complete, it is sustained—durable—and is irreversible.
</digress>

 Apathy
Some residents just did not bother answering the Bureau’s Questionnaire in person with me and refused to answer it online or by calling a toll-free number.
 
Racism
I knocked on the front door of a house, but there was no answer. Then I saw two Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) trucks next to the house and people standing and talking on the sidewalk across the street. I was told a PG&E transformer had overheated and caught fire. (It was a hot day with temperature in the low 100s.) Hence the family had evacuated temporarily. I asked all the five people if they could provide, as a proxy, any info about the family, but they could not. As I started to drive off, a gentleman returned to the family to quickly pick up his phone charger. He was Black and all the five people I talked to were White! I live in a cul-de-sac with nine houses and I know exactly how many people live in each of those, albeit I can’t name them.
  
Ignorance
Many folks have absolutely had no idea how often census is taken (it’s decennial—every 10 years) and the price the community pays for not being counted—lack of representation in the U. S. House of Representatives, federal aid to schools, seniors, food stamps (aka SNAP), etc. One respondent (occupant) said, “I don’t believe in the Census, it only helps immigrants and minorities.”
 
Disillusionment
I knocked on another door of a house, with a monster pickup truck in the driveway with a Confederate flag flying and saw a pit bull approaching the front door. The respondent was in the backyard and came to the front door steaming and saying, “I’ve told you five 5 times not to show up and (pointing to his barking dog), see, even my dog hates you.”
 
Overall, the Trump administration has politicized Census, as it has the entire COVID-19 mess. Typically, census are taken through December 31 and the results are tabulated and reported by April 30 of the following year. However, this time Trump and his cronies in the Department of Commerce, which overseas the Bureau, moved the census-taking deadline to October 15, with the results to be reported by December 31. Since May, however, career officials at the Bureau have warned that the agency can no longer meet the Dec. 31 reporting deadline because of the pandemic. But the right-wing Supreme Court today allowed the Trump administration to end census counting by October 15.
 
So, my fellow Americans, you just got a preview of what’s on the horizon when Amy what’s-her-face is nominated to the SCOTUS. You can kiss Roe vs. Wade, Obamacare, Women’s Rights, Same-Sex Marriage…Good Bye!
 
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
 
 

 

Trumpageddon

Trumpageddon

November 9, 2016 was a forgettable and probably the most ominous day in American history. The nation elected a racist, misogynist, Obama’s-class-to-crass President to the White House who won the election by a minority public vote—3 million fewer votes than his opponent Hillary Clinton. That’s one of the crazy things about the Electoral College, but that’s a topic for a separate blog. Trump seems to be a disciple of Reagan and a fan of Putin; Reagan is probably tossing in his grave!

What’s pathetic about the current situation is the folks he has picked for his cabinet positions:

• ·         Rick Perry who wanted to abolish the Department of Energy to head it! This is the guy from oil-rich Texas who denied global warming, strongly opposed Trump during the primaries, and couldn’t even remember what federal agencies/departments that he wanted to abolish—all of a sudden is a fan of the Orange Orangutan.
• Ms. BetsyVoss who, with her husband, ran a charter school in Detroit which is the lowest-performing big city in the country. According to CNN, nearly half of charter schools in Detroit are ranked in the bottom of American schools, according to the Education Trust Midwest. Twenty percent were given a "D" or "F" grade. And 80 percent of charter schools in the state are now operating as for-profit institutions.
• ·        Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil and a Putin Puppet (because Exxon has interest in Russia’s yet-untapped vast oil and gas resources), as Secretary of State.
• ·         Ben Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Here is a half-asleep, Seventh-day Adventist (we’re not attacking religion here) who thinks the world is 6,000 years old!
• Oklahoma Attorney General Edward Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. He has filed or joined some two dozen lawsuits to block EPA regulations.

·         The list goes on.

What is sad is that many GOP folks who were critical of Trump during his campaign blindly kissed his feet—hoping to get a cabinet position. It’s at least good to see that Chris ‘Fat Bridgegate’ Christie , Rudy ‘Dracula’ Giuliani, Mitt ‘the Shit’ Romney are out of the picture. But the tragedy isn’t over yet: Wait till the GOP House and Senate slowly dismantle, decimate, weaken, partially eliminate that everything that Democrats have delivered—Social Security (FDR), Medicare (Johnson), and Affordable Care Act (Obama). Well, if Americans elected a clueless President, we deserve what we get. Unfortunately, the majority who didn’t vote for Trump will suffer because of the morons who did.