Census, Taxes…So Many Deadlines, So Little Time

My husband electronically filed our taxes at noon today. This is the latest we have ever filed in the history of our marriage. I was relieved to finally finish the taxes.

A deadline is looming for another important event. The 2010 U.S. Census is due April 16. April 16 is the last day to mail in your completed Census form. Now, our family was all over the Census form. We completed/mailed back our form on the day we received it. But, if your form is still not completed or if you have a family member who might need assistance to fill out their form and mail it, then complete any forms and mail them by April 16.

So why should you mail back the 2010 U.S. Census Form, anyway? What happens if someone does not remember to send it in?

Not mailing back the U.S. Census form ends up costing the tax-payers more money to complete the Census process. Here are some facts:

For every 1 percent increase in the national participation rate by mail, the Census Bureau saves taxpayers $85 million by not having to send census takers door to door to households that failed to return the census form. If every household mailed back its 2010 Census form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking the census and save $1.5 billion.
It costs the government just 42 cents for a postage paid envelope when a household mails back the form but costs on average about $57 per household to send a census taker.
Children who are hidden from the U.S. Census counts (taken only once every 10 years) are not a laughing matter. Many parents may not realize the importance of accurately reporting the number of children in their family, including newborns. The truth is that the undercount of children means that we do not get a true picture of our nation and our communities do not get their rightful share of public funds. The census affects funding for education, health care, and other critical services.

So don’t just sit there reading this post! Get up, find your census form, complete it, and mail it back tomorrow — April 16^th! If you have already mailed your form…then Thank you!

Want more information?

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Go here for all the details on the 2010 U.S. Census.

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I was not compensated for this post nor was I given anything. By writing this post, I will be given an extra entry for the Global Influence BlogHer contest.