There will be a short form and a long form. You could get either. The
Questions Planned for the 2010 Census (and the American Community Survey) been submitted to Congress, two years in advance as required by law.
The American Community Survey (
link posted by the bird) is administered by the Census Bureau, but is now part of the long form. Like she said, it's none of their business. It is mandatory to answer it, tho.
Some of the questions are just unreal:
In the last week, did this person do any work for pay (even just one hour)?
Employer
Place of work and distance
How many vehicles you have
when your home was built
How many rooms
how many bedrooms
how many bathrooms
flush toilets
refrigerator
stove or range etc.
type of heat for home
telephone service
Do you have a business in this residence?
Monthly rent or payment
last month’s electricity bill amount
last month’s gas bill amount
cost of water and sewer for the last 12 months
Do you have a mortgage or financial interest in this home?
Do you have a second mortgage or home equity loan on this residence?
How much is your mortgage payment (per month)?
Does your mortgage payment include real estate taxes?
Does your mortgage payment include hazard insurance premiums?
For each person in the household:
Is this person CURRENTLY covered by any health insurance of health coverage plan?
In the past 12 months, did the person get married, Widowed, Divorced?
How many times has this person been parried?
In what year did this person last get married?
VA service-connected disability rating?
These are a far cry from establishing population and representation. These are questions that are asked to obtain information for predictive purposes and social services (like the redistribution of wealth. You've got 2 1/2 baths? Most only have one. You'll have to pay a tax on one of 'em so we can give someone else another flusher). They want to know if you're fertile, too, as data about fertility are used to predict the number of children who will need adoptive homes under the Child Welfare Act and to predict the level of need for family planning services for the child-bearing population, not to mention how many flusher Welfare housing should have. The reasons behind each of the questions are outlined in the first link above.
On the last Census I got the long form, but it wasn't nearly as long or invasive as this one's gonna be. I answered the first few questions, the same questions that have been on every Census since 1850:
Number in household
Name
Sex
Race
Marital Status
Everything else had N/A written for the answer. Never heard a word. Those are the only questions I've ever answered on a Census.
However...
United States Code
TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS
Section 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers
(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
Fine, hit me a $100 fine.
