EDITORIAL

What was your income in 1999?

How many weeks did you work?

What are the annual costs of utilities and fuels for your home?

When was the building you live in built?

These are the types of questions members of every family in Costa Mesa,

Newport Beach and every other community in the nation will be asked to

answer in the coming weeks as part of the 2000 U.S. Census.

The 38-page booklet you should have received in the mail this week may

seem a little daunting. Frustrating. Not worth the 38 minutes it claims

to take to fill out.

So, you may be asking, what’s the point?

Well, there are several reasons. But here are three good ones:

* It’s telling your leaders who you are and what you need. Census numbers

are used to determine the distribution for more than $100 billion in

federal funding for health clinics, highways, senior citizen programs and

school lunch programs.

* It can get you help in times of need. Census information allows

emergency management agencies to get the right amount of help quickly in

floods, earthquakes or other disasters.

* It’s being a part of America’s progress meter. Because the United

States has conducted a census every 10 years since 1790, we know how far

the country has come. Although records are held confidential for 72

years, you can use your own census data to prove age, residence or

relationship that could help you qualify for a pension, establish

citizenship or obtain an inheritance. Your grandchildren or

great-grandchildren in 2072 may want to use census information to

research your family’s history.

And, by law, the information you provide cannot be shared with anyone

else -- not your next-door neighbor, the Internal Revenue Service, the

courts or police -- for those 72 years.

Don’t let fear or uncertainty prevent you from providing this much-needed

information.

The census is one of those slightly inconvenient things in life that pays

dividends in the grand scheme of things. It is estimated that Costa Mesa

alone has lost $2 million in federal funds during the last 10 years

because of its uncounted population.

So take the time. Fill out the form and send it in by April 1.

Your community will thank you for it.