It is rare that statistics and politics become mixed together. I'm sure that there is a diversity of opinion in this forum, as there would be within any group, but I expect that there is a level of knowledge that is different here. For one, as dedicated computer users and discussants, we know that everything done through the internet is potentially knowable or 'countable.' In a sense, there is little privacy on the net. Does this present an alternate means of gathering census data, perhaps more interesting and valuable than asking about the number of bedrooms and toilets in our homes?
Another difference, and this is more speculative, is that forum members' knowledge of what statistics are, how they're gathered, processed and interpreted, might be more refined. How data is gathered data is the foundation of its value.
I think that any voluntary census cannot be as accurate, reliable, and thereby informative as an obligatory census process. Opinions?
When a nation threatens their citizens with fines and jail sentences for failing to complete a census form, something is drastically wrong.
Finally someone in government has recognized citizens right to privacy in their lives.
All any government really needs to know is how many people reside in their country. How many bathrooms I have, ranks right up their with how many dumps I take. It's none of their damn business.
...Finally someone in government has recognized citizens right to privacy in their lives.
+1
I have been known to bash Harpo on occasion but this time he got it right.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SINC
All any government really needs to know is how many people reside in their country. How many bathrooms I have, ranks right up their with how many dumps I take. It's none of their damn business.
Of course telling them the first may allow them to interpolate the second.
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I am in favor of the long form if it request relevant info. For example, the year I became a single parent with a profoundly disabled 7 year old daughter and four year old son, I received the short form and none of this info was recorded. I always felt that this info needed to be recorded. Back then, StatsCan said that only 3-5% of the Canadian single parents were men.
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Have to applaud the cons on this one. I couldn't care less with the privacy arguments, but all of the opponents use statistics that government provides them to develop, rape and pillage the environment. In other words the corporations get subsidized information at a discount and I think they should pay full charge for this information. I understand that social policy groups will also suffer but we need fewer people in this country not more.
I have little doubt Harper will capitulate and call a task force and delay the decision. If he doesn't the planet is better off.
I think that any voluntary census cannot be as accurate, reliable, and thereby informative as an obligatory census process. Opinions?
How does the government know I am answering truthfully? If I got one of these long forms I'd tell them my religion is wiccan, I have 10 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms. I have six husbands too.
It's none of the government's business other than my age, gender and where I live. That's ALL they need to know. No one should be forced or threatened with jail time for refusing to answer any other questions.
I think that any voluntary census cannot be as accurate, reliable, and thereby informative as an obligatory census process. Opinions?
What about the 21,000 Canadians in the obligatory 2001 census who described their religion as "Jedi Knight"?
Had a neighbor years ago who, for some reason, regularly got the long census. How many pigs? Seven. How many cows? Seven. How many horses? Seven. How many chickens? Seven. Total number of livestock on the farm? You guessed it-seven.
Why is there so much animosity about the census? The information gathered provides trend analysis for the federal government, provincial government and municipal governments to provide proper services to the various areas of Canada, cties, municipalities, etc., and probably provide historic trend data.
How many bathrooms, probably relates to sewer requirements. (Maybe it relates to construction renovation business too ).
No personal information is ever released by individual, it always aggregated, so you really don't know who the specific individuals are.
And as was said, even though it's legally required to fill it out, no one ever goes to jail. As with the seat-belt and cell-phone laws, it's just a way of getting compliance and it works.
I refused to fill out the long form one year and someone came to the door several times to collect it. Eventually some goon showed up to threaten my wife that they were going to take it up with the law. She became so concerned that she filled out a bunch of nonsense thinking she was saving me from their punishment. It wouldn't have worked on me.
If you want to give the government this info voluntarily, by all means do--I don't.
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Last edited by Macfury; Jul 25th, 2010 at 12:33 AM.
How can the census takers even have any idea if you're telling the truth? You could say you have 15 bathrooms. You could say you have none because you use the great outdoors. In the information age, where most people seem to be more skeptical than ever about statisticians, this kind of information gathering would provide suspect results at the best of times. You're certainly not going to get much response from the homeless, for example. And I don't applaud the Harpos on this one because I think they're reason for not doing the census is laziness. They should be coming up with a better system. Like reading everyone's Facebook profiles, for example just kidding.
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