Moishe House New Orleans

From the blackberry of gill benedek:

I am currently sitting in the Shrewberry neighborhood center, a stop and go 10 min car ride from the moishe house. Around me are 20 New Orleans residents armed with their very own hhc - handheld computer for you non-federal employees. Everyday for this week I will be training as an address enumerator for the 2010 US census. As a second job, my primary incentive was the position's generous hourly wage. Additionally, it is also providing me with inside look at federal programming.

One example of federal bureaucracy: with every person I talk to I have to give them the D-31 slip of paper ensuring that all the information is confidential. If anyone has questions about the D-31 piece of paper they can send an email to the "Paperwork Reduction Project 0607-0809".

New Orleans is eagerly anticipating for the completion of the official census, the key measure of population demographics. The entire New Orleans community is holding its breath to see exactly what type of change it is. Has the population grown? Where is it distributed? What are the income and education demographics?

City hall and businesses point to the census as key driver to spur investment. It also has a very immediate impact - federal dollars are allocated to districts based on their population size. New Orleans has had a tough time getting its population numbers with any clear certainty.

Alright, I need to go. But keep your eyes open for your friendly neighborhood census taker. Hopefully I won't get canned for taking a few days off over Passover.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry