The Census Bureau has sent out letters, received this week in the Kenosha area, telling people that a Census questionnaire will be coming soon.

It’s easy to poke fun at such letters as a waste of money — why didn’t they just send the form in the first place? — but the Census Bureau claims that such letters increase participation, which in turn saves millions.

Counting the entire population always turns out to be more complicated than most people expect. The easy way for the Census Bureau to get the information it needs is to send out the form and have it returned in the mail. Every household that doesn’t return a Census form must be personally visited by Census workers to get the same information.

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If you don’t want to be visited by a Census worker, the best thing to do is fill out the form and mail it back right away. The form is only 10 questions long, and the same form goes to every household. In the 2000 Census, every sixth household received a much more involved long form, but the Census isn’t doing that this time. Much of the information that used to be collected in the long form is now collected in a separate survey.

Although Wisconsin doesn’t appear to be likely to either gain or lose a Congressional seat because of the Census, an accurate count is still of vital importance. About $400 billion in federal funds is distributed annually on a per-capita basis. The money goes to roads, bridges, hospitals, job training centers, senior centers and emergency services among other things.

The more populous a county, the more money it will receive, so it’s important to count every person. It’s in everyone’s interest to fill out the form honestly and accurately and send it back. If you don’t send it back, a Census worker will visit, and that will take more of your time as well as theirs. You might as well save them the trouble and sent it back right away