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Nov. 12, 2011

Public Surveys: Who and What to Ask

The media is always harping on about the public... the public feels or the public wants... and

prove it in survey after survey. And yet this is the same public when repeatedly interviewed turns out

that 70% of Americans cannot tell you when WWII began, and that 72% of Americans cannot multiply 23

times 13, or even where Greece is, or where Afghanistan is, who was the 1st

President of the US, who

wrote the Gettysburg address, what year did man land on the moon, and on and on.

The surveys the media are continually running are supposed to prove something, but that depends

on the question; what was asked. Surveys conducted with people who cannot add properly, dont know

the name of the vice-president, cannot say where Venezuela is, suddenly prop up strong proof of

some point of view with their uneducated yes or no response. To make matters worse, the more

rabid media, in print, radio and on TV, are screaming that the voters should have a say about major

issues.

One opinion-maker the other day on a national broadcast said, The public should be allowed a

referendum vote on the national deficit. Oh good, we want the public to have a say about a very real

issue disguised in a simple yes or no question. No we dont. They should try asking this, Why cant we

let people decide on the feasibility of restructuring the national debt including off-loading untenable

mortgages and stabilizing Social Security (which weve been pilfering for decades) in this economic era

of widening differences and disparity between levels of society taking into account the need for

industrial financing and financing ongoing government bond payments but always set against the

poverty levels of 35% of the American people.

And yet the same media mouthpieces pointed out just last week that 72% of Americans cannot

complete Middle Grade arithmetic multiplication. Heck, even Greenspan recently admitted he got that

question on the national deficit wrong.

Heres another one: Should we cut public sector spending to lower taxes at a local level? 65% of

the people would respond with a yes. But if you ask the question, Should we cut public sector

spending by laying off firemen, teachers and policemen? a huge majority of the same public would

respond, Not on your life! And if you ask (as they did in the 70s) Should we cut public sector money,

especially federal part-time employees on Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to help balance

the budget? as Reagan did in the late 70s the answer was yes. And if you now know these were border

patrol special support police?

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And the problem of question and answer is not restricted to the general public. More often than

not, our political leaders suffer from the same lack of applied intelligence.

I am always dismayed when I hear a politician responding to a foreign diplomatic situation with I

will consult with the experts in the military and formulate a plan. What? If you have a foreign

diplomatic situation you should first consult with the people who do not want to go to war. Warriors,

the military, are good at war, not peace. I am not saying the generals opinion is not valuable, but as a

political leader, our President should first and foremost seek to avoid war, not ask the military if it is a

good idea. Eisenhower said this best (paraphrasing), It is always time for the peacemakers, the military

opinion comes second. He did not mean peaceniks.

The world balance when it comes to power and money has suddenly changed. Were asking the

wrong questions of the public and our leaders. Part of the problem in understanding what has happened

to the world economy is that 20 years ago we had won the Cold War. Today, the vanquished non-

democratic opponents of that war are the most financially stable countries whilst we, and most of the

so-called West, are struggling principally because we never stopped spending on defense, it won us the

war, so why stop a good thing? And if you have the military capability, excess capability, it clouds your

thinking when deciding whether or not to take American teens and men and women to war. So the

question we should be asking is not Do we want a strong military to defend the nation and world

democracy against all comers? but rather Do we want a military strong enough to defend the nation

all the while we build American financially so we can get on with our lives and live peacefully?

The proper phrasing of the question is often more important than the answer. That and making sure

you ask a question the public can begin to understand.