I don't believe they can really get a true picture of things as lots of people would have put any garbage down just for the sheer hell of it. The one bit that got my goat was asking how many people would be in your home on a particular night...whats that all about!
The main purpose of a census is to count the population - one way to do that is to count the number of people in each residence on a given date. That's what that was all about. Simples!
The main purpose of a census is to count the population - one way to do that is to count the number of people in each residence on a given date. That's what that was all about. Simples!
Which begs the question - How come they don't just ask how many adults and children live in my house & who we are... simples no?
Instead of where's my business based, what do I do, what's my title, just exactly how ethnicly Asian am I and my progeny :confused:.
Presumably all the information that is required by the bodies that deal with such information is available to them through the right channels...already.
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I'm not sure what some of the questions are aiming at on the census form - and do they get checked against things like the electoral roll and the rating lists? [The information is there already, and like for the farming paperwork for the government we have to duplicate forms endlessly - there's little tie-up :(].
I have to put that my birthplace is Cairo and what does that tell them? Precisely nothing!! - except that my mother happened to be there when I was born - the fact that she was working for Bletchley Park under the auspices of the foreign office is not recorded - I shall probably be classed as Middle Eastern when in fact I am Anglo-Saxon!
With future generations we shall probably be even more mixed up - I have a half-African grandchild. When one believes in reincarnation ethnicity and religion become totally irrelevant.
Why did they need to know who was staying overnight at my house? Whoever did stay overnight also had to put their names down on their own form anyway.
Why did they need to know who was staying overnight at my house? Whoever did stay overnight also had to put their names down on their own form anyway.
But on their own form they would have noted that they were not staying there on that night, surely?
I still don't see why they needed to be on 2 forms if all the census needed to know was how many people there are.
But on their own form they would have noted that they were not staying there on that night, surely?
Why A £1000 fine, why a fine at all ?!
But on their own form they would have noted that they were not staying there on that night, surely?
But what a stupid unnecessary complication, as already said by people, it was simple enough to just say who is living in a certain household, not where they were on this one particular night :016:
But what a stupid unnecessary complication, as already said by people, it was simple enough to just say who is living in a certain household, not where they were on this one particular night :016:
Well, there must be a reason, I suppose, but I'm sorry, I don't know what it is.
I expect Conspiritualist will be along shortly with a theory 😉
What happens to the guy who spends the night in his truck, does he leave his form blank?,if people in hospitals fill in a seperate how much time and money does that add on to expenses? what if that same person who was meant to spend the night was discharged later then what?, its a load of nonsence.
Velly good points Star99
You kinda make them (censuses...sound almost benign, yet the census used in Holland in the 30's/40's for example helped the Nazis round up all the Jews,
In fact I think most European countries listed race/religion on their ID cards- another very good reason for not having them. However your comment raises an interesting point, because members of my own minority religion were strongly encouraged by our organisation (the Pagan Federation) to declare ourselves as pagans on the census form. The PF's arguement was that the more pagans "officially" exist, the easier it is to compel the government to respect our rights to practice our religion.
However as you say, if a very extreme Christian government came to power, this information could also be used against us. I suspect that even now many pagans may not declare themselves as such on the form, because old habits of secrecy die hard.
As regards asking peoples' race, the justification is that this enables ethnic monitoring, to see if policies to promote equality are working. For instance, if they know that 45% of people in a town are black, but only 10% of the town council's employees are black, then this could indicate that recruitment policies need looking at (although it might just mean that black locals don't want to work for the council!) But likewise of course the info could be misused by a racist government.
I don't mind the census but I do think there's far too much intrusive questioning these days. I recently filled out a "complaints and suggestions" form at the public library, the form had a page for my complaint/suggestion followed by two pages on my age, race, gender, religion, and sexuality! Needless to say I refused to answer most of these questions on the grounds of their impertinence.
A big downside of such questions is that they encourage people to stereotype themselves, to put themselves in boxes. Like the Emperor Haile Sellassie in his famous speech to the UN, I look forward to a time when "the colour of a man's skin will be of no more significance than the colour of his eyes".
I thought the census was far too complicated and asked too many intrusive and pointless questions. It used to be that the only information required was the name, age, place of birth, occuption and relation to the head of the household, of the people in the house on that night. Surely that's the only information that is necessary? and sufficient for family history researchers? I have a son who is currently 'travelling' abroad, so I had to put him down as someone who usually lives with me but is away at the moment - they then demand to know his address last year. He was in digs at uni last year but that's over and done with, what the hell relevance is that to anything? What is the point of me having to give an address he lived at last year and never will again? They say the census has cost billions and is so expensive they might not be able to afford the next one - well if they kept it simple it wouldn't cost so much.
Yes, it did just use to be key details that were recorded, but in those days the economy and the way people lived was more 'local' and nowadays, it's more a national economy with people travelling, communting and working all over the place, and likewise there is a greater diversity of cultures in the country now. So the additional questions of religion, salary range, number of cars etc. etc. and the need to record where people were visiting overnight even if they live elsewhere etc. helps statisticians to build up a greater picture of the country and allow different 'questions' to be asked in order to e.g. focus funds on education in particular areas that appear weaker than others etc. The intended purpose will be to try and, in the long run, create a balance across the country, so that everyone feels a part of a unity of the nation. Of course, the way the politicians actually do it and the greed of individuals and companies etc. will always put a spanner in the works, and I don't think the ultimate goal will ever be achieved. However, I do think it can be of help to improve things for those people who need it. As already mentioned elsewhere above, most of the information is stuff that could be determined from other sources (tax records, health records etc. etc.), but rather than spend numerous millions trying to gather all that data into one place and link it to specific individuals, it's far easier, cheaper and more accurate to ask the individuals to put all that information down in one go. It's not the nitty gritty details they wanted, just the general feel (i.e. they don't want to know your exact salary, just what range of income you have in the household).
As with most things the authorities do, there will always be people ready to shout out about how terrible it is that they are trying to do these things, but incidentally, it's those same people who typically shout about the authorities not doing things to help improve their lives. Sometimes we have to look for the good in things and not just the bad. (of course you have to keep your eye out for the bad too 😉 )
All Love and Reiki Hugs
The overnight visitors one was a complete mystery to me as well. I happened to be getting married at that time and had visitors over from France. I really felt is was none of the government's business who I had to stay at my house so I omitted that detail. If there was a reason clearly specified why they wanted to know and which made sense, maybe I would've included details.
I gave the bare minimum of info; I just wanted to get it out of the way in as quick a time as humanly possible. I just didn't have the time to fill it in properly when it came round. Got time now, though!