April 8, 2009

Selling the Welfare State Through the Census

The Constitution mandates that a census be taken every 10 years so that the members of the House of Representatives can be apportioned among the states according to their population.

But as the Census Bureau prepares to undertake the 2010 census, it is planning to stress a far different purpose for the population count, according to its own carefully crafted communications plan.

This plan is detailed in a 351-page Census Bureau document titled “2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign Plan” that is posted on the bureau’s Website.

On page 10 of this plan, the bureau states that the “unifying idea for all communications” about the 2010 census is: “Only you can make the census ours.”

It says that this idea will be “expressed in the marketplace” through the phrase, “It’s in our hands.”

“This is the broad, overarching platform, unifying all messaging,” the plan says of the phrase, “It’s in our hands.”

Now, these phrases may look to you like lyrics from a Barry Manilow song, but to the people running next year’s constitutionally mandated count of all people in the United States, they are very serious words.

“Using census data as the basis, and overlaying that with advertising industry marketing consumption data, we can generate a picture of populations of people who require additional efforts to respond, and the media they consume,” a Census Bureau spokesman told me. “2010 Census messaging was tested via surveys and numerous focus groups (see online research information). The unifying idea for messaging is the result of that extensive research and testing.”

On page 29 of its plan, the Census Bureau explains “What ‘Only You Can Make the Census Ours’ Means” – doing so in the imagined words of a U.S. resident being asked to participate in the census.

Participating in the census, it turns out, is all about “change” and “more funding.”

“I have an opportunity to help make a difference for my community, my family and myself,” says the imagined resident. “It’s literally in my hands, in the form of the 2010 Census questionnaire. The Census is much more than a piece of paper. It’s a tool that I can put to work to ignite positive change.

"My participation in the 2010 Census can be the tipping point that helps make change possible,” says the Census Bureau’s imagined U.S. resident. “And the more of us who fill out and mail back the Census, the more of us who want to tell a friend, to tell a friend, to tell a friend, the more funding we might get to help improve our lives and the lives of those who are important to us.”

In other words, the person the Census Bureau imagines it is targeting with its communications plan is not someone who looks at himself as a net payer of taxes but someone who looks at himself as a net taker of government funding.

He is a moocher.

In fact, the Census Bureau’s communications plan says its studies indicate that the way to sell people on participating in the census is to tell them that they get “benefits” for doing so.

“These studies consistently show that messages that increase knowledge of the benefits of filling out the Census improve motivation and favorability towards Census participation,” says page 24 of the plan. “New primary research among a wide range of target audiences further confirms the importance of communicating Census benefits.”

What kind of “benefits” is the Census Bureau talking about? It elaborates on the very next page.

“Consistently, across all audiences, statements related to the benefits of Census participation were motivating to respondents,” says page 25. “Filling out the Census provides an opportunity to help people in your local community get certain benefits, such as healthcare, school programs, day care and job training. The Census determines how over $300 billion per year in federal funds get divided among states and local areas of the country. Information from the Census helps the government plan for future improvements to schools, roads, and fire and police stations.”

To be sure, the Census Bureau’s plan does note that the census is used to apportion representation in Congress. But that is not the main thrust of its platform, those immortal words: “It’s in our hands.”

Says the plan: “One of the main objectives of the messaging that supports the ‘It’s in Our Hands’ platform is to communicate the benefits of filling out the Census form, or to explain, ‘What’s in it for me?’”

Simply put, the government is selling the 2010 census to a population it considers already sold on the welfare state.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.