2010 Senseless, I mean Census

Twelve questions. Twelve simple questions. For the past few months I've seen probably just as many advertisements for the 2010 Census as I did for the Olympics. Who is sponsoring these twelve questions? Television commercials (during prime time), radio ads and even a preemptive mailer to remind us that it was coming up. Where does the money come from to support all of this bureaucratic hoopla?

I know, the census provides some very important information to the powers that be so they can understand the demographics of different areas so they know where to allow future gentrification... Shit, did I type that out loud? Whoops! I mean so they know what areas need assistance and what-not.

Didn't they used to have census takers that went around door to door and asked people face to face these same questions? Well, I guess the new mail-in version makes more sense, nowadays who the hell wants to give out their information to some stranger? Talk about potential identity theft ring. However, I see some problems with the current method of information gathering. 1) My census questionnaire came in English. 2) There is no way to make me answer and return the questionnaire. 3) I don't have to answer honestly since there is no one to confirm or disprove my recordings. ( I always though "Pacific Islander" sounded cool and exotic). I live in a city where there is a considerable population of immigrant and refugee "tenants" some of which may be able to speak English but are unable to read it, furthermore, there are, I'm sure, plenty of undocumented laborers living in this city who won't be reporting their household information but that are definitely a noticeable part of the current demographic. With so many options for dismissing and/or falsely reporting your household information why put so much time and especially money into such a poorly structured information pool? I know that we need to create jobs but are these the kinds of pencil pushing bureaucratic pseudo work positions that we really need to be handing out?

As for myself and my household, we will likely be filling ours out and sending it back in, as to whether or not we become "Pacific Islanders" or not remains to be seen. I do want to do my part if for no other reason than to point out how pointless it was. Kind of like voting!

I'll try and keep this short and sweet. As you may or may not know, I am the kind of person who has taken to recycling my rotten food waste in my own backyard, that is, I compost. This practice has been around for longer than anyone can remember, hell, nature has been doing it from day one. That being said, it stands to reason that compost is a fairly benign thing except for the occasional vermin or insect problem due to poorly balanced piles.
I'm bad at segways so bare with me here. The other day I was traipsing through the local Lowe's and it struck me at the ridiculous quantity of fertilizer(s) that they were stockpiling there for the coming spring. We're talking thousands of pounds of manufactured chemical fertilizer, in just one store! It was, once I actually pondered it, amazing! This is another one of those "AHA!" moments. Think about this for a moment folks. One store carrying various brands and formulas of artificial plant food that in large (or even kinda big) quantities is toxic to both plants and people, piled high on pallets to be sold off at a considerable price. Every year tons of this stuff are shipped all over the country for lawns and gardens both residential and commercial. Now keep in mind everyone, this stuff by itself is relatively safe (relatively, so is C-4), however, in the wrong hands, mixed with the right components, this stuff can blow the side off a commercial building.
Now in contrast let's look at compost. This country produces millions of tons of food waste each year that could potentially be composted and recycled into nutrient rich fertilizer. A child could eat a handful of finished compost and likely experience no ill effects at all. You could fertilize your entire garden heavily with this stuff and not harm the water supply or the local ecosystem, hell, the worms will love you for it, and the food you harvest from it will actually make you Healthier! This stuff could easily be produced 1)at home in your own backyard, 2)with the use of worms in your basement, garage or even your kitchen (try that with the chemical stuff) 3) produced locally in each city or state to benefit the local economies and job markets. Compost doesn't, or at least shouldn't, require any special federally inspected manufacturing plants, bureaucratic regulators or chemical engineering degree. Furthermore, this stuff will not explode even if you light it with a match.
So this is my question; Why do we pay ridiculous prices for a newly produced, artificial, toxic, and potentially explosive plant food when we could be creating domestic employment while reducing our wastefulness and increasing the nutrition of our foods and the health of our families and communities?
I think that if we think about even slightly, we will find the answer. We are greasing the wrong wheels.