Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Census Bureau to Survey Nation's Spending Habits

TT Note: Beware, my friends, now Big Brother is coming to a location in your home so he can watch how you're spending your precious money. I'm wondering how one can politely say no thanks when the federal person shows up and says, "Hey, You've been selected to tell us everything." And all this is done by a third party hired hand who is to come into my home to do this survey on a regular basis? Will they demand proof of purchase?

This comes on top of the recent letter sent home to students saying Big Brother has to know their race. What other big plans is Big Brother putting in place to monitor our every move? Will we all be tagged soon with GPS?


/PRNewswire / -- In April 2009, U.S. Census Bureau field representatives will collect information about how much Americans spend for groceries, clothing, transportation, housing, health care and other items from a sample of households across the country.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program consists of two parts:

-- The Interview Survey - Throughout the year, about 28,000 households
will be interviewed once every three months over five calendar
quarters to obtain data on relatively large expenditures and also for
those expenditures that occur on a regular basis (such as rent and
utilities).


-- The Diary Survey - During the year, another 7,000 households will keep
two consecutive one-week diaries of smaller, more frequent purchases
that may be difficult for respondents to recall later (such as a
fast-food purchase at a drive-through window, a soda or candy bar from
a vending machine, or a carton of eggs from the supermarket).


The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics then calculates and publishes integrated data from the two surveys - providing a snapshot of our nation's economy and spending habits. Government economists use the survey results to update a "market basket" of goods and services for the Consumer Price Index, our nation's most widely used measure of inflation.

"The Consumer Price Index," said George Grandy Jr., director of the Census Bureau's Atlanta Regional Office, "helps businesses around the country keep wages, salaries and pensions in line with increases in the cost of living."

Before the CE interviews begin, households will receive a letter from the Census Bureau director informing them of their selection to participate in the survey. Census Bureau field representatives will visit these households to conduct the interview. The field representative must display an official photo identification before proceeding with the interview. Federal law ensures survey respondents' personal information and answers are kept confidential.

The following data on the amount spent on health care are an example of CE results.

Household Expenditures for Health Care: 2006-2007

Average annual amount Percentage of total
Area spent for health care expenditures

United States $2,810 5.7

Northeast $2,618 5.2
Boston 2,809 5.1
New York 2,674 4.7
Philadelphia 2,175 4.5

South $2,788 6.2
Houston 3,293 5.9
Dallas-Fort Worth 2,967 5.5
Washington, D.C. 2,641 4.0
Baltimore 2,431 4.6
Atlanta 2,355 5.0
Miami 2,167 4.7

Midwest $2,957 6.3
Minneapolis-St. Paul 3,705 6.2
Cleveland 3,293 6.9
Chicago 3,020 5.3
Detroit 2,307 4.8

West $2,857 5.0
San Francisco 3,224 4.6
Seattle 3,127 5.3
Phoenix 3,058 5.3
San Diego 2,613 4.8
Los Angeles 2,324 3.8

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