You Can Count On It

I'm working for the Census doing followup on addresses that did not respond. Now I should point out that one of the reasons I took the job was because no one in the little hamlet where I live got a Census form to return including me. I'm told by the Census people that the Postal Service returned them all as "undeliverable" but the clerk in the PO tells me she never got any to deliver.  Anyway I know that there are lots of homes here that need to be visited but the Census has me assigned to a team that is canvassing residences that are 9-30 miles from here. When I observed that I'd rather be working in my own community I was told "But you'll be getting mileage" (50¢ per mile). I guess that means they'll be paying mileage to someone from 20 miles away to come here and do what I could do on foot for no mileage. I learned today that isn't unique. The Postal clerk told me this morning of a friend in another community who also is doing Census work several miles from her own area. It seems like a strange way to do the job in a time when the country is staying afloat on credit from China.