Massachusetts wants everyone to count

The Boston Globe reports:

With millions of dollars in federal funds at stake, state lawmakers have set aside $100,000 to make sure that immigrants, students, and low-wage earners are counted in the next US Census.


Preliminary estimates have suggested that Boston, as well as the state, has been losing population in the past few years. If those numbers are confirmed by the 2010 federal census, Massachusetts could lose up to two congressional seats, as well as federal money for highway, education, and development programs that are tied to population.

Responding to concerns raised by the state's congressional delegation, local mayors, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin, lawmakers included $100,000 in the $25.7 billion state budget last week to pay a University of Massachusetts think tank to start researching the numbers to make sure that as many residents as possible are counted.

``Everyone is wringing their hands about how we're losing population," said Galvin, whose office will work with researchers at the Donahue Institute at UMass to try to track hard-to-locate populations. ``We want to do something about it, make sure every person who should be counted is counted. We're going to look in every nook and cranny in Massachusetts to count everybody who is here."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday that the funding will allow the state to come up with its own population numbers and not have to rely on federal figures.

``I endorse this move by the Legislature wholeheartedly, " Menino said. ``If the numbers the Census Bureau gives us continue, there's a good chance we'll lose a congressional seat. Their numbers also jeopardize our chances of receiving our fair share of federal funds. We haven't had any way to validate the numbers. This will give us an accurate count."

Can you say desperation?