Counting America: A Warning For the 2020 Census

Every 10 years since 1790, the United States has taken a census. The first version was pretty simple — it asked how many free white men there were in each household, over and under aged 16. The census also inquired how many free white women, how many other free people lived in one place, and how many slaves there were.

Those four little questions paint a dramatic picture of the country at that time. Zoom ahead 200 years, and you'll see that the census has become a little more complicated, and asks for more information, like the race and origin of the people living in every home.

And the results? Well, they have concrete consequences for things like political districts, and much more.

That’s why the U.S. Conference of Mayors says we should be seriously concerned that the U.S. Census Bureau is underfunded ahead of 2020, and doesn’t have a director. The last head left in May, and no replacement has yet been named.

So what do we need to know in the lead up to the next big poll that America takes of its people? The Takeaway asks two experts: Diane Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, and Ann Morning, an associate professor of sociology at New York University, and a member of the Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations.

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment. Don't have time to listen right now? Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts to take this story with you on the go.

This segment is hosted by Tanzina Vega