Peter Capelli wrote:
> Hmmm, obviously, the information is worth something to them, or they
> wouldn't be asking for it! Outside of a count of citizens,
> everything else is not mandated by the constitution, and therefore
> extra information that I feel is worth something. Marketing firms
> and others pay good money for the information the census department
> collects on the long form (e.g. income) and even for information on
> the short form (e.g. how many kids, how old). This is valuable
> information that is being bought and sold every day (just ask the
> S.C. Dept. of Motor Vehicles!)
yes, but that does NOT mean the $100 is the value of it. taken purely
from a market pov, there is no value since the info will not be used in
any market (e.g. address sales). of course, whether or not you believe
that is your choice.
the point was that you CAN'T say it's worth $100 to them just because
that's the fine for not giving the info.
> Actually, the fine for filling in the form with bogus data is $500.
I know. this was a suggestion for future events, to allow an "opt-out".
