The US Census – It Count$$$ to be Counted

(April 6, 2010) - It’s worth it to be counted in the upcoming US Census -- $400 Billion annually, to be exact.  That’s the amount of Federal aid, which is allocated annually to states and local communities, including our public schools, based on the Census.  So if you are interested in assuring that your federal tax dollars return to your home community, participating in the US Census is one small, but important thing you can do. 

Census participation is also good for business. Census data are routinely used to determine locations for retail stores, schools, hospitals, new housing and other services that generate new or expanded jobs and further contribute to the community’s tax base.  Finally, census data assure that your voice will be properly represented in the halls of government.  Legislative and congressional districts can change as a result of each Census, just like Connecticut’s did after the 2000 Census.  Then, our state lost one of its six Congressional seats because the state’s ten-year population increase was too small to justify its continuance.  So, for all of these reasons and more, it’s important to be counted, because history proves that it Does Count!

To help assure that everyone is counted in the US Census, the Foundation was recently asked to serve on the City of New Britain’s Complete Count Committee.  Over the next few months, the Committee will work with Census officials to assure that everyone in the City, particularly those who are homeless, transient, or of uncertain citizenship status, participates in this important population count. The Foundation actively supports this effort because we know how important it is to assure that each of our four communities, Berlin, New Britain, Plainville & Southington, receive their fair share of federal support.  These tax dollars provide a fundamental floor of services necessary to educate our children, pave our roads, and provide families with the basic services we depend upon for quality of life.  Private dollars through the Foundation’s Community Investment grants, and the contributions of others, can’t possibly replace those lost by a lack of participation in the Census, so it is in everyone’s best interest to assure that everyone gets counted.  Undercounted communities suffer when these basic needs are underfunded, and so we hope our efforts, in concert with others’, will work to assure that doesn’t happen here.

If you have received your US Census form at home, we hope you have already completed and mailed it in. If you have questions about the US Census, its purpose and uses, we invite you to visit www.2010census.gov.  It’s worth your time – and it’s worth money!