America Counts: The 2010 Census

24:12

March 10, 2010

U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves leaves the home of World War II veteran and village elder Clifton Jackson, 89, in the remote Inupiat Eskimo village Noorvik, Alaska., Monday, Jan 25, 2010, after counting him to formally launch the nation's 2010 census. (AP)

Heads-up letters from the U.S. Census Bureau went out to 120 million households this week. Next week comes the form: Who lives in your home? What sex? What age? What race?
The once-a-decade U.S. Census goes back to 1790. The Constitution requires it. Its count tells how to apportion representation and government spending in this democracy.
That means it’s loaded — politically, financially. And this time, the numbers are pointing toward big change.
This hour, On Point: the 2010 census and the changing face of America.

Guests:

Carol Morello, reporter for The Washington Post covering the 2010 Census.
Amy Sullivan, former national editor and now contributing writer at Time magazine.
Joel Kotkin, author of "The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050." He is a distinguished fellow in urban futures at Chapman University in California.

This program aired on March 10, 2010.