Despite the media blitz, the letter telling you the form is coming, the form itself and the post card reminding you to send back the form, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that only 16 percent of American households have participated so far in the 2010 Census.

What could be the problem? Could it be mistrust of the federal government? Just a guess.

From a story by Hope Yen of The Associated Press:

Roughly 100 million households to go.

One week after U.S. census forms were mailed to 120 million households, about 16 percent of the nation has completed those forms and sent them back. That number puts the government on its way to matching or surpassing mail participation rates in 2000 of 72 percent, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.

The bureau will continue to accept mailed-in forms through most of April.

From May until July, it will send census-takers to each home that doesn't reply by mail, which is more costly and sometimes leads to more inaccurate responses. The Census Bureau has estimated it would save $1.5 billion in follow-up visits if everyone who receives a census form mails it back.

Census Bureau Rolls Out New Interactive Maps Showing 2010 Census Mail Participation Rates

Gov. Ed Rendell has named Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris and actress Ana Ortiz of television's "Ugly Betty" to co-chair an advisory panel to ensure compliance with the 2010 Census.

"Each year, more than $400 billion in federal funds are allocated based in all or in part on the results of the Census," Rendell said. "That's more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period for critical things like schools, senior centers, job training centers, bridges, highways, public transit, and local emergency response services and training – a larger amount than many people realize."

Rendell said Pennsylvania cannot afford for any resident to skip participating in the Census, which involves answering only 10 questions and takes just 10 minutes to complete.

"According to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pennsylvania's population in the 2000 Census was undercounted by 102,000 peoplem," Rendell said. "That's the equivalent of missing the cities of Altoona and Lancaster combined, or failing to count the entire city of Erie. We cannot let that happen again; there is too much at stake."

Read the full release at the link below:

Governor Rendell Enlists Franco Harris, Actress Ana Ortiz, Local Leaders to Help PA Ensure Complete, Accurate 2010 Census

More than 140,000 Census workers will begin canvassing across the United States on March 30 in an effort to verify 145 million addresses.

What can possibly go wrong?

Census Workers to Verify Addresses in the U.S.

The Obama Administration is turning to ACORN, the radical group responsible for injecting voter fraud into the 2008 election, to help out with conducting the 2010 Census.

What can possibly go wrong?

Plenty, according to Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason, who issued the following statement:

"ACORN's actions last year certainly did little to earn the public's trust and I am sure that most Americans are concerned about this group's ability to deliver an accurate count," Gleason said. "News first broke that the President wanted to move the U.S. census into the White House, now he is enlisting the help of ACORN, a group that is widely believed to be consistently breaking the law. President Obama is trying to interject politics into the 2010 U.S. census, hoping to increase the reach of his Party throughout the country. It will be tough to trust ACORN's counts or any data they submit.

"With the economy in decline it is sad to see that the President is so concerned about the 2010 census. I also find it even more troubling that the Census Bureau wouldn't be willing to offer these jobs to the many hard-working men and women already looking for a job, rather than do political favors for groups that helped elect our current president."

Read more about the controversy, read "Obama blamed for ACORN's role in census" by Mike Wereschagin, in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Also check out this post at NetRightNation.com

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement on the Democrats' politicizing the U.S. Census:

"It is disappointing that President Obama would make the Census about politics rather than an accurate count of the American people by taking control of the process away from career professionals at the Department of Commerce and putting the most partisan chief of staff since H.R. Haldeman in the Nixon Administration in charge."