Oct 17, 2016

The American Community Snoop

A sterling citizen for whom I have great affection opened his American Community Survey packet this morning. He demonstrated his sterlingness by actually reading questions and penciling in answers for two or three pages.

Then the sorry SOB looked into the mirror of his sterling soul and saw tarnish.   File 13.

The Constitution grants Washington the power to enumerate him, so there he stands,  hand dutifully up for easier counting,  giving the federal snoopers a pass on the Article One specification that he is subject to forced enumeration only once per decade, not at any over-secretion of the enumerators' window-peeping glands.

He decided that the demanded details of his life -- personal, professional, social, and financial -- were (1) an identity thief's dream and (b)  a facilitator for further nanny-state bungling and (3)  a violation of  Article 4 of the Bill of Rights.

He was unimpressed with:  "TheCensus Bureau is required by U.S.law to keep your answers confidential." Perhaps that is because, on reading that, something reminded him of Lois Lerner who also pledged to obey the the law while in the employ of another federal tentacle required to observe strict standards of confidentiality.