Your Census Is In The Mail

Census mail results could be trouble for 5 states

Five states — New York, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida — are perilously close to losing out on congressional seats because of lackluster participation in the U.S. census

Interestingly, three of those sates are hemorrhaging residents due to high taxes and bad governance (California, New York, and Florida). This article doesn't appear to take that into account when it talks about a 5% trail in census mail-back rates. Perhaps the people just ain't there.

The big concern is Hispanics responding. All five of these states have large Hispanic population. Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials expressed this you-have-to-laugh-or-else-you're-crying statement:

"I'm incredibly disappointed with the Obama administration in their efforts to promote the census," Vargas said, citing the government's failure to halt immigration raids during the count as it did in 2000. "It may have the impact of shooting people in the foot if Arizona ends up losing out on a House seat."

So because Clinton in his final year halted the enforcement of our immigration laws, illegals felt it "safe" to respond to the census. Now that (surprisingly) raids are continuing, illegal immigrants feel it isn't so safe.

Look, I consider illegal immigrants to be unfortunate criminals who are exploited by their employers because they have no protections as they are here illegally. I pity their circumstances and prefer to punish their employers first. Yet America needs to know who is within our borders for our own safety and for our governance. I do not believe the Census can be used to force an illegal out.

Finally, so what if a state loses a Congressional seat? That is the WHOLE POINT of the House of Representatives! It was designed to fluctuate as the populations moved around. That was the brilliance of our Founding Fathers. Just because you gained populations and therefore a congressional seat doesn't mean it is that state's forever.

Case in point, many of the states trailing in mailed-in responses to the census have had recent out-migrations of residents. If a state loses a congressional seat, that lose is its own damn fault. Correct your rotten policies and create new attractive ones so that when the next census rolls around you gain a seat.

Duh.