Can the U.S. Census Be Wrong?

[cashwhisperer]

I copped this from another board. Interesting statement:

Of COURSE the census is wrong! There are just too many variables-- too many things that prevent accurate numbers.

1. Let's start with the fact that if you don't get 100% voluntary participation, you can never have 100% accuracy. Many people simply disregard the census, believing (mistakenly) that it's irrelevant.
2. Some people are hiding from the government and/or law don't want to be counted, lest they be "found out". They certainly don't complete the census forms.
3. Persons who don't speak one of the choice few languages in which the census is printed are unable to complete it. So countless Americans, who speak hundreds of different languages, aren't ever counted.
4. The number of homeless, and those persons with no permanent residence, can never be accurately counted by the nature of their constant mobility.
5. How can the thousands of missing persons be tabulated? To what city or state do they belong?
6. There are still undocumented births in America. Officially, those children don't exist.
7. Parents living apart erroneously claim the same child on both of their census forms. Each one provides a slightly different name for the child, who is essentially counted as a member of two households.
8. In any survey, isn't there a standard 5% error rate? Meaning that the census will, on average, miscount 5 out of every 100 persons.
9. Illiterate persons cannot complete the census forms. And out of pride, many will avoid the census takers out of embarrassment.
10. The census arrived in people's mail boxes. I ask you: Just how reliable is the US mail at delivering mail correctly? Exactly. My census form is delivered across the street, and they throw it away (heck, it's not THEIR mail.) Or I'm a transient with no mailbox to deliver to. Or I'm temporarily away and don't get my mail. Or the post office loses the completed census form. Or fails to deliver it to me at all. When you are depending on an agency whose accuracy rate is so-so, you can only expect so-so results at best.

....So if it IS indeed wrong, how many African-Americans are there really?

What there are way more of us than being reported?

How would we be able to prove the Census is correct, other than having faith in the system?

 

[da_monumental_1]

It's pretty accurate though. There's only a margin of error of a few percentage points.

45 million black people.
Undercounted +3% = 46.4 million
Overcounted +3% = 43.7 million

 

[cashwhisperer]

It's pretty accurate though. There's only a margin of error of a few percentage points.

45 million black people.
Undercounted +3% = 46.4 million
Overcounted +3% = 43.7 million

How do you know FOR SURE that it's "pretty" accurate? Are you just trusting what they say or do you have independent data that backs up your claim?

 

[ansatsusha_gouki]

I used to work for the Census Bureau in 2000,it's one of the worse jobs I've ever had.

It's fucked up that they sent me to the nice neighborhoods at the time.I think I ran into 4 or 5 black people when I was knocking on doors to get their information.They were really nice to me at the time.

The pay was very good at the time,but I wouldn't doing it again.

 

[tallblacknyc]

of course the census is wrong..hell ny got a bunch of illegal euro's, asians, mideastern, latin, africans..we prob talking about a couple mill not counted for in the illegal department..now as far as reg people not everybody fill that shit out or get visited..this juss the 5 boroughs not even the whole state..i could only imagine the entire usa

 

[dasmybikepunk]

It's pretty accurate though. There's only a margin of error of a few percentage points.

45 million black people.
Undercounted +3% = 46.4 million
Overcounted +3% = 43.7 million

Double that and you'll be about accurate.

 

[bububang]

I never believed the black population was as low as they said. I see black people everywhere and more than a few. I dont believe that 14 percent shit.

 

[cokely_muhammad]

The white supremacists make the U.S. Census what ever they want it to be.

 

[da_monumental_1]

How do you know FOR SURE that it's "pretty" accurate? Are you just trusting what they say or do you have independent data that backs up your claim?

Uncle Sam pays billions of dollars to third party companies that collect data on food consumption and waste from your local supermarkets/restaurants and landfills. They verify census numbers against those metrics. These are the very companies that design the floor plan placement of products in your local grocery store to maximize profit. Not only that, but the contract with the grocery stores stipulate that the data they collect becomes proprietary and the company can do with it as they see fit.

Hell, I collect around 32 variables on people who enter one of my websites it they come from Bing Ads.

Now just imagine what big companies are doing in comparison to little old me.

Double that and you'll be about accurate.

I was being conservative with that number. On average, the margin of error at most of these data harvesting operations is under 2%. They're just that good. There's a company here in NC that tracks over 400 individual metrics on every single American. Hell, for all you know, unbeknownst to you, your job is probably tracking bio breaks (how many trips you take to the bath).

 

[The Untouchable GDFOLKS]

How do you know FOR SURE that it's "pretty" accurate? Are you just trusting what they say or do you have independent data that backs up your claim?

He fucking doesn't know...home is one of those fake know it all types.

 

[julian]

If u took an actual census and counted the true race of people and not some made up ethnicity there are 120 million black people in America. That includes American born black people,mixed people with African ancestry who are of course black,Spanish people who are black but claim hispanic(which is not a race but a language),ethnics who are black but are allowed to claim Caucasian on census(Latin Americans,Brazilians,etc..) and Africans from middle eastern origins who claim White but are black as hell. Add them up and it's gonna be over 120 million conservatively.

 

[Dark19]

I never believed the black population was as low as they said. I see black people everywhere and more than a few. I dont believe that 14 percent shit.

Exactly.....According to That Thing We Have Been Stagnated at 13-14% of the Population Since Like the Late 50's, But Lations Have Been Rising and Booming Steady During the Same Time Period...Correct Me If Im Wrong in the South Weren't We Outnumbering Whites Like 3-4 to One Which Is What Had Some People Wondering Why We Werent Taking Over in the Southern Region Due to Numbers