Counting on ourselves

From the start, the census clause, Article 1, Section 2, of the United States Constitution has given us trouble. Its goal seems simple - provide a mechanism for determining the population of the states so that the seats in the House of Representatives are properly allocated.

via Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 2

In order to form this more perfect union, the founders had to agree to count each non-free person as 3/5ths of a person for the purposes of determining the populations of the states. That loathsome provision was subsequently modified by the 14th Amendment, giving each American man the right to vote and all Americans to be counted as a full person. (It took another 50 years before women were allowed to vote.)
In the early 20th century, the Supreme Court allowed the government to collect additional information about households and citizens. (See Census in the Constitution - 2010 Census for more information.) It wasn't, however, until the Great Society when local officials started to realize that the census meant money. If we have more people, we get more money from the federal government (forgetting for the moment that the money that the federal government distributes is our money).
So now we have the blatant whoring by just about every elected official, community organizer, and advocacy group, telling us that we need to complete our census forms because we'll get money for it.

via Massachusetts Census 2010: Why Participate?

What are we? Thirteen and we have to get paid to pick up our laundry from the floor?
Dunno about you, but completing the census form is pretty much just a civic duty, like voting. You do it because it's one of the (very small) tasks that are a part of being a participant in civil society.
It's the right thing to do and we shouldn't have to be bribed to do it.