After years of planning and political fighting, the decennial U.S. census begins today.
While the major push will begin in March in most states, the first count this year is taking place in a hard-to-reach fishing village in southwest Alaska called Toksook Bay. The state's sparsely-settled areas have been the first to be counted since 1867, U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham explained to Cheddar, because the area becomes difficult to get to and more dangerous to traverse once the snow and ice start melting.
The full U.S. count is expected to finish in August.
The months of counting across the U.S. are essential, Dillingham emphasized. The results determine how federal funds are distributed to public entities like schools and hospitals and for infrastructure and public services. It also determines how many seats states receive in the House of Representatives, the number of electors, and helps to draw congressional district lines.
Although door-to-door efforts are underway in Alaska, Dillingham noted that new technology allows people to respond "anytime and anywhere."
Now that respondents can answer online, in addition to over the phone or by mail, questions about security become more prominent, but Dillingham said the process "is safe because the law provides that this information can only be used for producing statistics and, if we violate that, we'd go to prison for a long time.".
"The Census Bureau has an excellent track record," he added. "Your information is protected."
Dillingham said the bureau expects about 60 percent of households to self-respond, but he hopes that number gets higher. "Whenever households self-respond, it saves American taxpayers more than $100," he said
That can add up. The Census Bureau is funded by Congress, but some states are spending their own funds to boost census efforts. California, the nation's largest state, and 25 others are spending near a third of a billion dollars to ensure residents respond to the census. On the other hand, 24 states, 17 of which are led by Republican legislatures and governors, are not spending a dollar. Tight budgets may be partly to blame, but critics contend an accurate census would include more "hard-to-count" groups, like Asians, Hispanics, and poor voters, who may tend to vote for Democrats. A bill to commit $50 million to a census response failed in Republican-led Texas despite a large and growing population of immigrants.
The Trump administration had made a failed attempt to add a question to this year's census inquiring about citizenship. However, critics said the question could make non-citizens, many of whom are found among minority populations who traditionally vote for Democrats, unlikely to respond to the census, skewing the results in favor of Republicans. The Supreme Court blocked the question after dozens of states, cities, and groups sued the administration, claiming the addition of the question was politically motivated and would decrease participation in the questionnaire that helps appropriate funding and voting power.
Dillingham notes the Census Bureau employs counters to tally people not living in traditional residences, such as those individuals experiencing homelessness, in order to increase participation.
"We have special efforts in those communities and use special procedures," he said. The bureau sends "people out in the middle of the night working in pairs to find those people," he said.
"Wherever they may be, we can work with them and make sure we can get them counted."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
While Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans, it's also a time to reflect on how they can be better heard and supported.
Black Americans are still fighting for voting rights, facing more severe impacts from COVID-19, and experiencing gaps in workforce representation and pay. Alexandra Schrecengost, hybrid work expert and CEO of "Virtual With Us" and "Culture With Us,' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Premio Lo Nuestro 2022 is kicking off awards season this month with its 34th show. The star-studded event will include performances from Pitbull, Luis Fonsi — and even Sting with his new Spanish-language single "Por Su Amor." Ignacio Meyer, the vice president of music and non-scripted entertainment, Univision, joined Cheddar News to talk about the music award show details. "We’ve actually still got plenty of surprises that were going to be announcing," Meyer said. "We're not done announcing the star power just yet." Singer Camilo leads with 10 nominations going into the event.
Black spending power reached a record $1.6 Trillion in a 2021 report from the University of Georgia Selig Center for Economic Growth. Ayesha Selden, certified financial planner, breaks down why real estate is the key to closing the racial wealth gap and how Black Americans are using social media to improve financial literacy. "If we look at home ownership as being a primary driver of wealth, when you look at the equity that Americans have in their homes, that equity can be used to buy additional assets like other rental properties. That equity can be used to educate our children," Selden said, noting that lower rates of home ownership meant Black Americans tend to incur more debt on average for their student loans.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Kate Strasdin, fashion historian & senior lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University, discusses the lessons industry leaders draw from history to make fashion more sustainable today; Kendall Becker, fashion editor and trend forecaster, forecasts the hottest trends of 2022, and what will be left in 2021; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Going Circular.'
Dr. Kate Strasdin, fashion historian & senior lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the lessons industry leaders draw from history to make fashion more sustainable today.
A new survey from Etoro suggests that talking crypto might actually help Americans on the dating scene find love...or at least land another date. The survey found that 74% of respondents would be more interested in going on a second date with a person that pays the bill in Bitcoin. Callie Cox, Etoro's U.S. investment analyst, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
