Home » Posts tagged 'census' (Page 5)
Tag Archives: census
Party like it’s 2009!
Ever wonder why Prince (or "the artist formerly known as") was so hyped up about 1999. Everyone has a theory...Y2K bug, end of the world...NAY, I say...NAY! He was excited because it meant that he was that much closer to the 2000 Census. Yes, much like Big Foot or the beloved Nessie, the Census emerges only every decade to come and count the people in the U.S. And guess what time it is now, boys and girls! That's right, the mighty Census is rearing its head again, hungry for your information. But don't worry--it's confidential. In fact, your personal information on that Census form can't even be divulged to the big man himself. That's right, Santa Claus. Oh, and President Obama can't get it, either. Nope, your information is safe from public (or private, devious) consumption for almost a century...by that time, you'll most likely be dead or living somewhere else. So feed the hungry Census in March! And party like it's 2009...because it's CENSUS TIME! Yes, that was also the original title to the M.C. Hammer hit, but that's a story for another time... Sonnet Because government information needs to be free...free as the wind blows. Continue reading
Let the countdown begin!
Thank you, James, for the warm welcome! I thought I'd kick off my guest blogging with a fun countdown. No, we are not counting down to the New Year, though I'm sure we are all ready for a fabulous 2010! This countdown is much more important. In 119 days, people all over the country will send off their census forms. That's right, folks, it is census time. Everyone should receive their forms in the mail by March 2010. It's 10 questions that will only take you 10 minutes to fill out--and then you don't have to do it ever again. Okay, you will have to do it again, but not for another 10 years! So make it count! It's free, easy, and confidential. And it decides how many representatives your state gets, as well as how much funding the federal government gives to your community. Besides, if you don't do it, they'll just track you down and knock on your door until you answer the questions or go insane...believe me, they will. For more information on the 2010 Census, visit http://2010.census.gov. Remember: government information needs to be free--help out by turning in your completed census form as soon as you get it. Sonnet Continue reading
Health Insurance Coverage: 2008
A new report in the Census Bureau's Current Population Report P60 series reports on health insurance coverage. The report is based on data from the Current Population Survey.
- Health Insurance Coverage: 2008 (press release, etc.)
- Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. By Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-236, September 2009. [pdf]
US Census Bureau’s DataFerret
DataFerrett (Federated Electronic Research, Review, Extraction, and Tabulation Tool) is a free data mining and extraction tool developed by the U.S. Census Bureau that allows users to search, browse, combine, tabulate, recode, and analyze statistical data from a network of online data libraries. The DataFerret software can be downloaded from the website or ran in the browser via a java applet. Some material to read before getting started:
Available data sets included:- American Community Survey (ACS)
- American Housing Survey (AHS)
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)
- County Business Patterns (CBP)
- Current Population Survey (CPS)
- Decennial Census of Population and Housing
- Harvard-MIT Data Center Collection
- Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)
- Local Employment Dynamics (LED)
- National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS)
- National Center for Health Statistics Mortality (MORT)
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES)
- National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
- National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
- National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife (FHWAR)
- Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
- Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD)
A non-partisan U.S. Census Bureau
For fascinating, provocative reading about where the Census Bureau will reside in the federal government organization, read the Feb 10, 2009 Wall Street Journal: "Why Obama Wants Control of the Census: Counting Citizens is a Powerful Political Tool" (author: John Fund). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123423384887066377.html. Serious changes may be happening, and more quickly than imagined. Even the seven former Census directors who support turning the Census into an independent agency recommended doing so after the 2010 Census. To quote the article, "[S]tatisticians at the Commerce Department didn't think [Obama's changes] would mean having the director of next year's Census report directly to the White House rather than to the Commerce secretary." Lots of food for thought. Continue reading
Latest Comments