Message from Chamber President JIm Tollefson.

 

 

I was disappointed to hear that Hawaii is one of the lowest in the nation for returning completed census information. According to the Honolulu Census office only 60% of the forms have been filled out and mailed back.

Filling out the 2010 Census is very important to the economic future of our state. The census is a snapshot of our state and it tells us who we are and how we’ve changed over time.  Our federal funding for schools, highway repairs, construction etc. is based on the Census data.

Additionally, knowing the number of people living in the State helps make informed community decisions and is crucial to government decision makers for infrastructure planning, schools and construction.

The Census data also helps businesses identify the location of their businesses, activities that can lead to new jobs. The data is also used to define legislative districts, school district, neighborhood areas, and other important functional areas of government.
It is very important that every citizen be counted. As reported by the Hawaii Government Complete Count Committee, for a 5% undercount in population, Hawaii would lose $65 million.

Friday is the deadline to mail in the Census form. If you need help filling out your 2010 Census form call the Honolulu Census Office at 535-0900. Follow-up Census takers will be visiting homes that do not send theirs in. However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it costs the government 42 cents per household when forms are returned by mail, compared to the approximately $57 it costs to count a household that does not return a form through the mail. That’s tax payer dollars.

I urge everyone to fill out the Census form like I have. If we don't tell the government how many people we have, we're not going to get the funding that we deserve. Do it for your state, your community and your children’s future.