U.S. Census 'reminder' letters save taxpayer dollars
March 10, 2010 · Updated 11:38 AM
The U.S. Census Bureau started mailing out letters on Monday reminding people to fill out their Census and return it promptly. While it's always nice to have a reminder, the letters have been striking some people as wasteful (full disclosure: I was one of them).
Well it turns out the letters are actually saving taxpayer dollars—to the tune of about $85 million.
The Census Bureau broke it down on their Twitter account: "Non-responders get a personal visit. Cost of obtaining a mailed-back census form: $0.42; getting responses in person: $56." They also said that the advanced mailings increase response rates by about 6-12 percent.
As for being able to opt-in to e-mail updates or respond to the Census electronically, it's not in the cards—yet. The Census Bureau is looking into "many mobile options" including an iPhone app. Of course, that assumes that iPhones won't be passé by 2020, so we'll just have to wait and see.
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