Should You Answer the Census Questions?

Rep. Michelle Bachman says you should answer only one:

Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's so worried that information from next year's national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.

In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times "America's Morning News," Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become "very intricate, very personal" and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts.

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," she said. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

Shelly Lowe, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Mrs. Bachmann is "misreading" the law.

I'm sure she'll be labeled as paranoid, but she's got a point. The census has become more of a social engineering tool than what it was intended to be - a count of Americans so that legislative districts could be established. I don't know if I'll follow Bachman's lead, but I may choose not to answer some of the more intrusive questions.