Guy W. Farmer: The growing expense of counting Americans

Now that most of us have paid our federal income taxes, let's take another look at how Washington, D.C.-based politicians and bureaucrats are spending our hard-earned tax dollars. We can start with the census, which costs each and every one of us nearly $50.

Thanks to Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine, I now know that the 2010 Census will cost about $15 billion, including $338 million worth of advertising in 28 languages. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau tells us that it's all for a good cause - to assure that Nevada receives its fair share (whatever that means) of federal largesse. In other words, we spend $15 billion to make sure that the government returns some of our tax money to us in the form of federal grants and handouts. I call it "pork" but politicians like to call it "free money." Isn't that special?

Whenever our elected representatives announce that they've secured federal funding for Nevada, they make it sound as if millions of dollars just float down from the heavens with no strings attached. But of course they're talking about the tax money we already sent to Washington, and it isn't "free" - not by a long shot. And it isn't their money either; it's our money.

By the way, that $338 million worth of census advertising included hiring Marie Osmond to do outreach on home shopping networks, $2.5 million for a Super Bowl ad, and spots on Spanish-language radio and TV, and "Dora the Explorer," which undoubtedly helped my

5-year-old twin grandsons understand the census.

We spent only $45,000 on our first census, in 1790, as federal marshals went house-to-house on horseback to count heads. But that cost has ballooned to $15 billion this year as states, municipalities and special interest groups chase after $400 billion worth of federal aid for everything from jobs to schools to bridges to nowhere.

You may be surprised to learn that almost half of American families pay no federal income tax at all, which means that the other half of the population is financing a free ride for those who don't pay. In Washington this is known as "progressive taxation." According to the Tax Policy Foundation, which studies these matters, 47 percent of American families pay no income tax because their incomes are too low or they qualify for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their tax liability. Those are the folks who will receive "free" medical care under President Obama's health care reform legislation.

A final census note: when I filled out my form I checked "other" in the ethnicity box and entered "American." So be sure to send in your census form; we need the free money.

• Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, supports the Census (sort of).