Next US Census May Contain a Time Capsule

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Somehow or another my name and email address invariably find their way onto a variety of e-newsletters, some of which I immediately "unsubscribe" to, and others of which I come to enjoy.  One of the ones in the latter category is a newsletter put out by the US Census Bureau which apprises me of aggregate material which can now be accessed from the recent 2020 federal census - as well as plans and ideas for the next national census which will be held in 2030.  

One of the innovations that the Census Bureau has incorporated since the completion of the 2020 census is an effort to gain public input into new features for the next census, ways that might help improve the count and provide a clearer picture of who is actually residing in the United States at the time of the census.  A year or two ago the Census Bureau had a campaign to solicit suggestions for the 2030 census from the public.  I didn't have any great ideas, so I chose to not get involved, but over 8,000 people did have ideas which they submitted.

Some people suggested things that the Census Bureau was already working on, and in some cases those projects were expanded due to public interest.  There were also a few new ideas that intrigued census personnel to the point that they have initiated research projects around them to ascertain their feasibility.  One of those new ideas which the Census Bureau is seriously considering is the notion of including a personal "time capsule" in the 2030 census.

The time capsule would give a space for respondents to leave a personal message for people who access their census forms over seven decades later.

The way it currently works is like this.  The Census Bureau collects a wide range of personal information on each census form - things like age, gender, race and ethnicity, family income, housing arrangements, languages spoken in the home, educational levels, and many other things which give the government and social researchers a better view of who actually lives in the country.  Much of that information quickly begins being compiled in aggregate form - numbers without personal identifying information - and made available to researchers as well as to government agencies who must allocate resources based on specific population numbers and other criteria.

But the personal information, that connected to specific individuals by name is not released until seventy-two years after the information has been collected.  Last year, for example, copies of the original forms from the 1950 census were released for public scrutiny - and I was able to go in and find myself as a two-year-old on a copy of the actual form that was collected by a census taker who came to my parents' home and asked them questions about the family.  My sister, who was born later in 1950 after the information had already been collected, did not make it onto the 1950 census.  Her name will make its first appearance in the public census rolls in  2032 when the 1960 census is released for public scrutiny.

Now, if this new idea for a time capsule goes through, a family member will be able to leave a personal message on the 2030 census, and that message will not surface again until that census is released for public examination seventy-two years later - in 2102.   And won't the world be a much different place by then!

Not everyone trusts the census, due in large measure to the Trump administration's nefarious work to control the numbers by maligning the process back in 2020, but it is an important process, mandated by the Constitution, that gives us the clearest picture of who were are as a nation.  The more people who respond, the clearer that picture becomes and the more fairly our nation's resources can be distributed among the populace. It is to everyone's benefit to participate.  Part of the rational for this inclusion of a time capsule in the next census is that feature not only will help to personalize an otherwise cold document, but it might spark an interest among reluctant holdouts to become involved in the nation's headcount.

A census time capsule is a good idea.  I wish that I had thought of it!

(I buried a time capsule once - on a hilltop above the Elk River in McDonald County, Missouri.  It was a fruit jar, tightly sealed, that contained a few coins, a couple of predictions - like who would win the World Series that year - and some other items that I have since forgotten.  I suspect the year was 1964 which was also the year that the St. Louis Cardinals, my World Series prediction, won the title - their first championship since 1946.  I would have been sixteen at the time I buried that capsule.  I guess I should go dig it up - God knows I could use the coins!)