Voters Say To Hell With Deficit Reduction, Help The Unemployed

[UrbScotty]

Source: Huffington Post

Two national polls released Tuesday revealed that registered voters think it's more important to help the unemployed than to reduce the deficit.

Voters are generally wary of government spending to boost the economy, but they nevertheless told ABC News and CBS News that the deficit is no reason not to help the unemployed.

Fifty-two percent of voters told CBS that Congress should extend unemployment benefits "even if it means increasing the budget deficit," including 35 percent of Republicans. Sixty-two percent of registered voters told ABC Congress should extend benefits despite concerns that doing so "adds too much to the federal budget deficit."

In a Bloomberg survey, 70 percent of voters said reducing unemployment is more important than reducing the deficit. But only 47 percent said Congress should reauthorize extended benefits, which in some states provided the unemployed with up to 99 weeks of checks.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/unemployment-deficit-polls-voters_n_646600.html

[BlueIdaho]

1. But... But... But...

That doesn't fit with the bullshit "narrative" the MSM is trying to sell the American people, so it can't be right! I know, let's ask Chuck Todd what he thinks...

[SkyDaddy7]

19. CBS & ABC are MSM. nt.

[Enthusiast]

20. Yeah, Chuck Todd.

Chuck is always in the know. :sarcasm:

[truebrit71]

35. Chuck Toad = Out of depth sycophant

n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

2. POLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those politicians don't need no damn polls!!!!!

If public opinion really mattered, we would never have gone into Iraq.

[UrbScotty]

3. Most people supported the Iraq invasion - about 70% at one point

if I recall correctly.

[Downwinder]

5. I wasn't consulted, were you?

[BrklynLiberal]

6. I actually marched against it., as did millions around the world.

[No Elephants]

16. Only because Saddam personally flew all 3 planes on 911, though.

Sadly, Goebbels was right: "The Big Lie," repeated often enough, always works.

Especially with nationalists suffering from blood lust.

[saigon68]

22. Especially with War Criminal Dick Cheney and his band of

Cowards, Draft Dodgers and Industrial Pirates

[Patchuli]

48. Some stupid people still believe it

and repeat the lies...

[Enthusiast]

21. The people were lied to.

It was a calculated lie to sway the public. And those responsible for the lie should be in prison for the rest of their lives. But some advocate 'looking forward'. Looking forward was the beginning of our really serious trouble.

[girl gone mad]

26. The majority was against invasion.

Polls showed that the public wanted to give the inspectors more time to act.

[Bragi]

28. Quite so

As I recall from memory, if you asked the U.S. public at the time if they thought Saddam should be taken out, they agreed that he should; if you asked them if the U.S should invade and do this without UN approval, they said they were opposed to an invasion without UN backing.

I also recall that the solution here for Bush (and Blair) was to pretend to seek UN Security Council approval, and when that failed, to pretend that the UN had already approved an invasion though vague motions passed years earlier.

It was at this point, as I recall, that Tony Blair ignored the advice he was receiving internally -- that an invasion would be illegal -- and proceeded to join with Bush in manufacturing a set of lies to justify his illegal intentions.

Which is precisely what the UK's Iraq Inquiry is currently investigating. Once this investigation ends, I think Blair will clearly be at risk, in any subsequent international travel he should risk, of being charged with war crimes.

Which brings shame upon him that is well earned. Pity the same shame can't be visited on Bush et al, though I must admit, you don't see him and his cronies on many international flights these days, do you?

[TBF]

36. That was before people realized it was a personal vendetta and

WMD were a ruse.

[sam sarrha]

43. that was an illegal an immoral war, it would be immora to fail the folks hurt most by that wet brain

alcoholic AWOL moran, Fascist ass kiss'n weasel Bu$h43. who left the worst mess the GOP ever made in this country since the Great Depression. we cant bail out the Fascist pigs at AIG, etc, and leave mom an dad homeless.. there will be a new round of foreclosures.. the best stimulus is grass roots help.

[kelly1mm]

8. Or gotten the "Health Care Reform" we did. nt

[Lorien]

44. Ha! So true. I notice that the enablers of the elites really don't like this poll

they've been hitting that "unrec" button like mad.

[earcandle]

4. If they don't stop the war and build jobs for everyone and take away entitlements, then we will have

more casualties here then in any of the wars we are
conducting.

That would be an economic war, against us, I am afraid.

We need to get those repukes out the door. 

[LaPera]

7. Absolutely! Unemployment insurance adds only a fraction of what tax cuts

for the rich has been adding to the deficit the past nine years....The lying disgusting republicans fight hard for the rich and saying fuck the unemployed because Unemployment insurance helps the economy from going completely stagnate....but that's what the republicans want and want to do keep the economy sinking, fuck the country and the people hurting republican just want to sabotage the economy so they can steal back congress in November and work us real good while giving the rich & corporations everything they want and deregulate & privatize everything only the rich get richer with privatization, and always end up paying more and get fucked with bail outs, bankruptcies, subsidies, tax cuts and price increase by they corporations....We can't let the republicans get away with it!!

[defendandprotect]

11. Right . . . and extending the benefits helps the economy!!

An investment in workers and communities!!

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. This will not, however....

...keep them from cutting the number of Democratic reps to about 229, nor Senators to 54.

Piaget figured out that only about half of us ever master the ability to think about two ideas at the same time. Two things, yes. One thing and one idea, yes. But not two ideas.

So your neighbor -- not you, you're smarter than that -- can vote thinking 'We gotta help the unemployed' or 'We gotta change the status quo' -- but he can't do both.

And since we've got more seats at risk thanks to a rich haul in '06, and '08, expect narrowed majorities.

[TomCADem]

10. Will Republicans Be Held Accountable? No, Just Given A Free Pass

Being a Republicans means you can vote against your constituents and not be held accountable. Being a Democrat means being blamed for the idiotic things that are done by Republicans.

[ooglymoogly]

12. But that is what DINO's are for.

to destroy the dem party.

[JoeyT]

13. It's a false dichotomy to begin with.

Helping the unemployed will reduce the deficit. It's not an either or.
More people working = more people spending money = economic recovery = lots more taxes coming in.
There's also a lot of ways we could subtract from the deficit in the short term and still help the unemployed substantially. War funding would be a good start. So would switching from free trade to fair trade to level the playing field for American workers. So would making outsourcing a hell of a lot harder to do.

I'm guessing not much of that is on the table.

[Zorra]

14. 70% say help the unemployed. But only 47% say extend benefits. ?

My guess is, the disparity between the percentages in the Bloomberg survey is the result of the standard republican voodoo economics mindset.

Sooo, republicans...what's your plan? Tell jobless folks to go down to the local mission for a hot meal instead of extending benefits? Or may we could have a nationwide prayer meeting, and all pray to jeebus to drop loaves of bread and little fishies out of the sky for the unemployed to take home and put in the microwave that they no longer have because they had to pawn it to keep the electricity on?

Or, in lieu of extending benefits, maybe the government could create a costly new jobs program (one that would cost a hundred times what extending benefits would), which could be magically funded, designed, and implemented just in time to keep the new class of starving homeless kids from ending up in jail for stealing bread to help feed their families that are living in cardboard shacks out by the dump.

Republicans can't govern because they can't come up with any constructive ideas to form effective plans and policy that actually work. Rep. Grayson's description of the republican "don't get sick or die quick" health care plan is a perfect example of republican voodoo logic.

[SemperEadem]

18. I"m wondering exactly how that question was phrased

in order to elicit 47% saying to extend benefits.

[No Elephants]

24. 52% (62% of registered voters) in the ABC/CBS survey: From OP:

"Sixty-two percent of registered voters told ABC Congress should extend benefits despite concerns that doing so "adds too much to the federal budget deficit."

the 47% in the Bloomberg survey wanted jobs increased, rather than extend benefits beyond 99 weeks.

[Zorra]

27. Thanks. I got that. So the President will just wave his magic wand, and *voila!*

jobs are increased. The thing is, every day that these benefits are not extended, more of the folks that have already used up their benefits are forced out of their homes because they are totally wiped out.

How do the 47 percenters propose to increase jobs? Again, republicans have no plan. Regardless of this fact, increasing jobs is an incremental process that can not happen overnight. By the time any significant job increase becomes effective, it is highly likely that most of the folks that have already lost their benefits will have had their lives crushed, and will possibly be out on the street, without the resources to even look for a job.

It's friggin' selfish, heartless, and inhumane.

[Zorra]

29. Whoops. I meant 23 percenters, not 47 percenters. My bad. nt

[glowing]

34. They didn't ask the question: which would be should the govt hire directly?

If they had, that would have had a huge response. People want progress. There is work to do. Why just let people sit idle. It's boring.

[truthisfreedom]

15. Funny. Truth hits home.

[No Elephants]

17. Once again people espouse the liberal position, as long as you don't label it liberal.

that's how good a job the Rethugs have done discrediting the term "liberal."

[Enthusiast]

23. This is a very good point.

The word liberal has taken the place of the word leper in our society.

[No Elephants]

25. thanks. I fell for it for a while, too, I confess. No more. Proud to be a pro-human being liberal.

Pro-farmer. Pro-labor. Pro child. Pro affordable health care. Etc.

[tom_paine]

30. Luckily for The Power Elite, the American Subject Populace has zero power.

Corporations and the wealthy are ubermeschen.

The bottom 80% are untermeschen.

All according to the the beliefs of our Aristocratic Elite.

End of story.

It never matters what the untermenschen want. Occasionally, the Aristocracy has to appease the untermenschen, but not often and not because we untermenschen have any actual power.

[Davis_X_Machina]

31. Bad choice of pseud....

...I seem to recall another Tom Paine who actually was involved in a pair of revolutions. Back when people had actual agency, I guess.

[phantom power]

32. Silly voters, social safety nets are for your corporate masters.

[inna]

33. "only 47 percent said Congress should reauthorize extended benefits" - WTF???

Wow.

Long-term unemployed can just go shoot themselves, right??


This country is sick. Deeply, deeply sick, and something needs to be done about it.

[TBF]

37. Just anecdotal,

but lately in Houston I've noticed many new stories about bank robberies. If nothing else you'd think folks would think about what kind of society it will turn into with so many people destitute. As you said, people are going to have few choices...

[okieinpain]

38. oh this article is bs, everybody knows the dems are going to get

swept because we're spending too much trying to keep people working, and not cutting spending.

[bobburgster]

39. Hear, Hear!!!!

but will they listen?

[bvar22]

40. The Democratic Party Leadership doesn't care WHAT you want.

Over 70% of ALL Americans wanted a Public Option.
What good did THAT do? :shrug:

92% of ALL Americans support TRANSPARENT, VERIFIABLE elections!
THIS would be an EASY WIN/WIN for the Democratic Party.
You would THINK that after to stolen election of 2000, and the questionable election in 2004, that THIS would be a Front Burner, Red Hot Issue with the Democratic Party...
but, instead we get even MORE consolidation of unverifiable Black Box Voting.
WHY?
...because "they" don't care WHAT YOU think or want.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x446445


Here are some polls from 2005!!!
Here is what the MAJORITY of Americans (Democrats AND Republicans) want from OUR government!

In recent polls by the Pew Research Group, the Opinion Research Corporation, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS News, the American majority has made clear how it feels. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic Party:

1. 65 percent (of ALL Americans, Democrats AND Republicans) say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

http://alternet.org/story/29788/

George Carlin was right.
"THEY don't give a shit about YOU."
.
.
and they won't, as long as YOU let them.

[LWolf]

42. +1

[Lorien]

45. True. We haven't been a real Democracy for some time now. nt

[TheKentuckian]

46. Fuckin A Right , Bubba

[tiny elvis]

41. what's that smell?

abc poll

25. Do you think the federal government should spend more money to try to boost the
economy in a way that creates jobs, or do you think that whether or not jobs are
created should be left to the private sector?

25b. (ASK IF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD SPEND MORE MONEY) What if it sharply increased
the federal deficit – in that case do you think the federal government should or
should not spend more money to try to boost the economy in a way that creates jobs?

25a/b NET:

where is question 25c. (ASK IF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT SPEND MORE MONEY)?
example: what if it reduced the need for unemployment benefits?

huffpo description, '...despite concerns that doing so...' is false, a superimposition of politicians' bullshit on public opinion
it is the mind muddling smell of truthiness

[PinkFloyd]

47. Deficit, schmeficit....

I mean, they never gave a damn about it when Bush was in. Sen Kyl even said point blank that balancing the budget and fiscal responsibility should take back seat to tax cuts for the 200k plus folks. Heaven forbid the middle classer folks run up debt by collecting unemployment, eh?