The Daily Background
| Guess who this anti-census lunacy is really hurting?
by Arlen Parsa
This is a perfect example of people “voting” against their own self-interests:
exas is counting on the 2010 Census to deliver four new congressional districts, four new Electoral College votes in presidential elections, and millions of dollars in additional federal aid. But, as some elected officials are starting to worry, Uncle Sam can’t deliver anything to the rapidly growing Sun Belt state unless Texas residents deliver their forms back to the government.
As of Friday afternoon, only 27 percent of Texas households had filled in and returned their census forms — well below the national average of 34 percent — according to computer data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Harris County, the response rate is 23 percent. Houston’s returns are running at 21 percent.
So, conservatives boycott the census saying that it’s this that or the other horrible thing, which it isn’t. As a result, by under-counting themselves, they deny themselves things like congressional representation, electoral college representation and federal aid. For each person that refuses to fill out a census form, Texas for instance loses $12,000 of tax-money that is owed to it by the federal government. They might also pick up 4 House seats if reapportionment goes correctly– that is if enough conservatives fill out their census forms. That’s money that helps improve schools, health care, and agriculture among other things.
You gotta wonder what the– and I can’t believe I’m saying this– what the poor guys at the Republican National Committee think of this ignorant boycott. After all, far be it from the RNC to look down upon the latest conservative wacko trend, but at the same time this particular mindset has the real ability to do actual damage to the Republican Party by stifling growth to their electoral apparatus in the form of added congressional seats and more electoral college votes. It’s getting ridiculous watching the Republican Party destroy itself.
