1886 Theatrical Poster for 'Lost'
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I’ve fallen behind on my posting. I hope to catch up with all the news over the next few days, though.
Today is Census Day – the day on which we count all the people living in the country. This is the 23rd census since the first in 1790. The census is mandated by The Constitution and occurs every ten years. Results from the census are used to allocate some $400 billion in Federal money as well as to allocate seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the various states. The census results also are used to set up a variety of district boundary lines for state legislatures and a multitude of other uses.
That’s why it’s so distressing to see that Worcester County again is last in the state in participation (to date) in the census. As of Monday, the national participation rate in the census was 52%. For Worcester County, the rate was 34%. The next lowest in the state is Baltimore City at 45%. Only Worcester, Prince George’s (48% and Baltimore City have participation rates lower than 50%.
Now, to be sure, part of the problem in Worcester is the large number of unoccupied residences. But the participation rate excludes those residences – typically summer homes or condominiums – where the mail is returned as undeliverable.
It’s important that ALL residents of Worcester be counted, so let’s get those census forms in. We need to be counted along with everyone else and not be ‘lost’.