The Pour Over Today - Could You Go to Jail for Not Filling Out the Census?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Okay, one of the stories that I found was about King Philip II of Spain. In 1777 wanted to know what was going on in New Spain. So he sent people out on a royal decree with like 50 detailed questions for locals. And I'm just picturing like they probably didn't speak the same language. So question 10 asked each Queblos to draw a map and only a minority of the respondents like sent back. maps, but apparently they range from like very elaborate to just crude and unlabeled. And they were just like, some people use like die from bugs and stuff like that. Like just thinking about in the 1500s showing up, speaking another language, like I have 50 questions for you. And also can you

Starting point is 00:00:53 draw me a map using some bugs? Hey, it's Kathleen. This is Catherine. Anne. Welcome to TPO Explains, where we provide news context for normal people. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the pourover will summarize the day's biggest headlines for you. But as we're doing that, we usually get pretty interested about something we don't know a lot about. So on Saturdays, we'll pick one of those topics that we came across throughout our week and do a shallow dive taking you along with us. So this week, K.A., what did you think was interesting and decide to take your own shallow dive and then decide to take the TPO explains family? along for. Senses.

Starting point is 00:01:37 I actually, I had so much. You found this one. We were writing the other words. Censis. I know. I feel like it's a good topic if when you first float it, when you're like, hey, guys, what about for TPO explains, censuses? And the first reaction is like jokes.

Starting point is 00:01:52 Like, do you mean since I? Since, censuses, then, you know, it's going to be, it's going to be a good topic. A winner. Yeah. All right. Well, K.A. writes our explainers. She wrote today's newsletter, so she's going to read through it for you, and you can follow along with your eyes or listen along with your ears. Let's jump in. So what

Starting point is 00:02:13 is the census? Census is a big federal roll call. The U.S. Census Bureau's ABCDs are always collecting data. Uncle Sam runs several kinds of censuses to think economic government censuses. They're a bunch. But the big Kahuna is the decennial census. held every 10 years on April 1st. It counts every resident and where they live and it's constitutionally mandated. April 1st, 2030 will be America's 25th. So why'd the founding fathers think we need a census? Originally, it was to divvy up house seats, direct taxes, engage the country's pool of military age men. The first census asked for a tally of your household by gender, age, and whether they were free or enslaved. Today, the census is

Starting point is 00:03:03 includes questions on things like race, ethnicity, and things like that. The data determines how Uncle Sam distributes trillions of dollars in federal funding each year, how states redraw district lines, and how many house seats each state gets. So how do they count all of those people? Every household gets an invite by April 1st, with the option to respond by mail, phone, or online. And if they leave them on red, a census worker can, literally knock and knock and knock and knock on the door for up to six times and they still don't get an answer after three unsuccessful attempts the bureau can ask a proxy so that's like a landlord a neighbor or a real estate agent or they can use administrative records think irs or

Starting point is 00:03:51 home ownership documents it's not perfect for the last 0.7% it does the math equivalent of will estimate. And in the last census, the national over or undercount came to negative 0.24%. So what if you just don't answer? Technically, they can fine you up to $5,000, though nobody's actually been prosecuted since 1970. Still, undercounting can cost your community funding and representation for a decade. But the upside is that your answers are kept confidential by law. The Census Bureau can only publish aggregate statistics, and flat out says that it won't hand over your individual answers to the FBI, ICE, or the IRS with no exceptions. The one catch, hang on 72 years and your form does go to the public. But then your great kids can look you up.

Starting point is 00:04:44 I feel like when I looked up the 72 year rule, it like was a press release. Like, hey, 1940 is just going live and 1950 will go live in 2050 will go live in 20. 2022. Like it was, it was like a big deal that they're like, if you can now look up pumped. Yeah, let's look up with the status to 72 years ago. Yeah. I mean, even just like the the thing about the last time they prosecuted somebody was in 1970. I had so many questions. I'm like, well, who was it? Was it just one person? And they were really mad at them? Like, what was the big deal? I did, I looked into it a little bit. And so the last time the government pursued criminal prosecutions for refusing to answer the census was the 1970 census and multiple people and radio

Starting point is 00:05:34 stations kind of felt pressure to not give it was just during this like era of resistance like during a period of heightened distrust towards the government and so people didn't want to participate um there was like a more famous guy who was convicted his name was William Rickenbacker um And he, I don't know, he refused to answer like the long form questionnaire. So he did like the, the basic questions. But he was like, this invades my privacy. And a federal judge fined him $100, gave him a 60 day suspended prison sentence, which ended up being upheld. And then there was a guy, like if you look up 1970 census criminals or whatever, a guy named William Steele from Hawaii. refused to fill out the 1970 census. And he returned the form with pages just completely ripped out and was not quiet. He was actually like the leader of a localized census resistance movement distributed anti-census flyers.

Starting point is 00:06:46 And then the, a court fined him $50. Anyway, so after the 1970 census took the U.S. to court and was like, this you can't just be mad at me for not filling out information and the court did throw out his conviction ruling that the government can't selectively prosecute citizens because they exercise their first amendment right to publicly protest the census so maybe that's why they haven't prosecuted anybody since then i suppose that would be a tricky thing i didn't even think about the first amendment in all this i know so anyway congress changed the law in 1976 and eliminated prison time. But a lot of people say that it's his, that 1970 case is the reason why

Starting point is 00:07:32 the government stopped pursuing criminal cases altogether. So now you know. Somewhere in America, a kid is waiting for a way out. Last year alone, the National Cyber Tip Line logged more than 113,500 reports of possible child sex trafficking. Reports come in every day, but identified is not safe. Someone still has to get them out. That's what Safehouse Project does. They train communities to spot trafficking and make sure that when a kid is ready to leave, they have a safe ride, a safe place, and care that leads to lasting freedom. And that's where you come in. Just $40 covers a safe ride from captivity to freedom. When a kid finds the courage to run, your gift makes sure the way out is there. Give a kid the way out. Go to see.

Starting point is 00:08:25 safehouseproject.org slash TPO or tap the link in the show notes to give now. So, Kay, what did you have wrong in your head before you started digging in? I honestly had no idea what the point of the census was. Like, in my head, I think I was just like, I guess it's good to know how many people are in your country every so often. Like, I didn't even think, I didn't think that it had anything. to do with house seeds or fund i mean it makes sense like if i if i had like sat down and been like now katherine ann why do you really think they do the census maybe i would have come to that conclusion but when i started reading that i was like huh makes sense i just picture you thinking like yeah i guess

Starting point is 00:09:17 they just sat down one day and they were like there's a lot of us i wonder how many that's kind of what it was because i would do you that. If I were leading a country, I would be like, hmm, count them. Yeah. I feel like I could have, yeah, I don't know that I just never thought about the purpose. I think I knew it was for house seats, but I didn't anticipate it being about like gauging how many people were fit for the military or anything like that. I also, of course, I have thought about the census in a biblical sense because of Jesus. Sure. And having to go back to be counted in Bethlehem. But have I actually thought about other countries' censuses? No, not a lot. I did learn that, so the U.S. does their census every

Starting point is 00:10:11 10 years on years that end in zero. And the UK does theirs every 10 years on years that end in 1 because of like the conversion between centimeters and inches and stuff. So that was cool. But just like, yeah, the different ways of counting. That was interesting. All right. So do you think researching this, discussing this, learning about this, does anything now change with how you'll live your life other than not being afraid of going to prison anymore for not feeling?

Starting point is 00:10:46 Well, I think I'm hump to put you 30. Really? Yeah. The 2030 census? I think what if we could throw a 2030 census party on census day? Everybody would think it's an April's joke. You're not going to, okay, I did think the fact that it comes on on April 1st and like a common misconception could be that you could go to jail for not filling it out. And so it's like, oh, I get this piece of paper in the mail that says I have to fill it out and tell them my name or I'm going to jail. Is this an April full of show? Okay. So when you want to have you want to have a party, but you don't want to wait for the results. It's the act of counting that you want to celebrate. Yeah, I think so. Because the results, we don't, it's not, there's not like a census release day where like, should be like when they paste like, you know, when they put up who like got the roles in high school theater. It's not like that. Here's how many data. Oh, there are. No, no, no. I think just we can all fill out the census together. Oh, okay. Sure. We can, we can, we can play that game.

Starting point is 00:11:51 where you put like a bunch of imitems in a jar and everybody has to guess how many are in the jar. There is a lot of potential here for a census party. Census party. Yeah. I think I'm game. I like the idea of filling out the census together so that when I'm like, what do they mean by this? Somebody can help me. Save the date.

Starting point is 00:12:12 April 1st, 2030 census party. I'll be there. I'll be there. Okay, cool. Well, what about a Christian perspective? So when we're thinking about counting, I think it's encouraging to think about how the God of the universe knows us intimately, better than we know ourselves and with perfect accuracy. He doesn't over or undercount even our sins, yet he loves us. And we can rejoice in that truth and praise him today for that.

Starting point is 00:12:39 And I think Luke 12 versus 6 through 7 are encouraging, and they say, aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies, yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. I love that comparison of like, yes, he knows all of our sins. And he also knows the number of hairs on our head. And he loves us tremendously. Thanks.

Starting point is 00:13:06 Before we go, we always want to say a prayer together. And so today, where else to look than the book of numbers? Where they're discussing how many people. and let's pray this blessing from Numbers 624 through 26. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like and subscribe.

Starting point is 00:13:38 You can find all of our past explainers as well as our Monday, Wednesday, Friday news summaries on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get raw tests. So, until next time. Hi. We've all gone through seasons where we want to study the Bible deeper and, if we're honest, enjoy scripture more. The new living translation is designed to capture the deep layers of meaning in God's word, make them clear and vivid, and help Bible reading be as engaging as it is accurate. Plus, the NLT's attention to cadence and rhythm make it one of the most enjoyable translations to read and listen to. Check out the New Living Translation for yourself. Just click the link in the show notes or go to New Living Translation.com forward slash TPO.

The Pour Over Today - Could You Go to Jail for Not Filling Out the Census?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.