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Most Americans Say Government Has Too Much Power Over Economy
Rasmussen Reports ^ | October 6, 2010

Posted on 10/07/2010 8:09:57 AM PDT by reaganaut1

When it comes to the economy, the message from Americans is clear: Leave it in the hands of the private sector and not the government.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of Adults feel the federal government has too much influence over the economy already, while only 20% say it doesn’t have enough influence. Fifteen percent (15%) believe the government’s influence over the economy is about right.

The number of Americans who feel the government has too much power over the economy is down slightly from January, when 58% of adults felt that way.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans and 51% of adults not affiliated with either of the major political parties say the government has too much influence over the economy. Democrats are evenly divided on the question.

A majority (56%) of all adults believe the government is involved in too many things that would be better handled by the private sector. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree with that assessment, while 17% more are undecided.

But again there's partisan disagreement. Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans and 55% of unaffiliateds think the government is involved in too many things that should be handled by the private sector. A plurality (49%) of Democrats disagrees.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on October 1-2, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Only 29% of Americans believe decisions made by government officials will do more to help the economy grow than decisions made by U.S. business leaders.

(Excerpt) Read more at rasmussenreports.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: socialism
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I wish Americans had thought about this in 2008 and voted accordingly.
1 posted on 10/07/2010 8:09:59 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

“Most Americans” are smarter than I had imagined.


2 posted on 10/07/2010 8:11:31 AM PDT by rovenstinez
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To: rovenstinez

Well....MAYBE they are smartening up.....watching the destruction of our economy under Odumba...


3 posted on 10/07/2010 8:12:39 AM PDT by goodnesswins (f you don't support Obama, and the deconstruction of America: YOU are a RACIST.)
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To: reaganaut1

Duh!


4 posted on 10/07/2010 8:13:21 AM PDT by Paperdoll ( On the cutting edge)
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To: reaganaut1

Not only does government have too much power over the economy, but also too much power over individual liberties. This must stop! This must be stopped! And the first thing to do is vote Constitutional conservatives into office in November. The first step in this regard is to vote a straight republican ticket. We can always weed out the RINOs at a later date and time!


5 posted on 10/07/2010 8:13:33 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: reaganaut1

Duh-Watch!


6 posted on 10/07/2010 8:15:21 AM PDT by GeronL (http://libertyfic.proboards.com <--- My Fiction/ Science Fiction Board)
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To: GeronL

I would like a shorter title: Government has too much power.


7 posted on 10/07/2010 8:17:27 AM PDT by Mouton
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To: Mouton

very true


8 posted on 10/07/2010 8:19:37 AM PDT by GeronL (http://libertyfic.proboards.com <--- My Fiction/ Science Fiction Board)
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To: reaganaut1

They voted for it - they deserve it.


9 posted on 10/07/2010 8:22:04 AM PDT by Red6 (IMHO)
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To: reaganaut1

BULLETIN! REPUBLICANS NOW POISED TO TAKE SENATE MAJORITY
Published on DickMorris.com on October 6, 2010

Dear Friend,

Today, October 6th, is the first day this year that the Republican candidate leads in the most recent poll in ten Senate races for Democratic seats. If the Republicans hang onto these leads, they are assured of a majority!

Even more important, the Republican is moving up in all ten races even where the margin is still narrow!

The following are the polling data from the most recent survey listed on realclearpolitics.com:

North Dakota = Republican + 43%

Arkansas = Republican + 18%

Indiana = Republican + 18%

Wisconsin = Republican + 12%

Pennsylvania = Republican + 7%

Colorado = Republican + 5%

West Virginia = Republican + 5%

Illinois = Republican + 4%

Nevada = Republican + 3%

Washington = Republican + 1%

And, in Connecticut, Linda McMahon is hot on the heels of Richard Blumenthal. In New York State, the last published poll had Republican Joe DioGuardi one point behind appointed Senator Kristen Gillibrand, but that poll is now two weeks old. In Delaware, the last poll is two weeks old and showed Democrat Coons way ahead but it may well have closed since.

The only piece of bad news is that Fiorini is 3 points behind Boxer, but Barbara is still under 50% of the vote.

We need to get our vote to turnout!

PLEASE ORDER MY NEW MOVIE, BATTLE FOR AMERICA, AND SHOW IT TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, FAMILY.

Click here to watch the “Battle For America” trailer
Click here to order “Battle For America”

And give a generous donation to SuperPacUSA.com for “Project 100” to expand the number of House seats we are trying to capture and to take on some high value targets like Steny Hoyer, Barney Frank, and John Dingell.

Thanks,

Dick Morris
AS THE ELECTION APPROACHES, WE ARE TRYING TO EXPAND THE E-MAIL REACH OF THESE COLUMNS. PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY
THANK YOU!


10 posted on 10/07/2010 8:28:56 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: reaganaut1

Iraq Racks Up Budget Surpluses While U.S. Debt Grows
Iraq has run annual budget surpluses each year since the United States invaded and ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003 while the U.S. pumped more than half a trillion dollars into Iraq and ran deficits in every one of those years.
In the 6-year period from 2004 through 2009, the Iraqi government amassed a surplus of $52.1 billion, with up to 92.1 percent of its revenues coming from oil exports, according to an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
During that same period, deficits in six consecutive years boosted the overall U.S. national debt from $6.9 trillion to $12.3 trillion.
Part of that increased debt can be attributed to the $624 billion the U.S. has spent fighting the war to overthrow the Iraqi regime and help the Iraqis set up a democratic government, the GAO observed.
Despite Iraq’s surpluses, on July 29 the U.S. Congress approved $1 billion in “emergency” aid to the Iraqi government, and President Barack Obama is seeking another $2 billion in his fiscal 2011 budget, CNSNews reported.
The GAO also disclosed that the Iraqi government held as much as $32.2 billion in cash on deposit at banks and financial institutions.
“GAO believes that Congress should consider Iraq’s available financial resources when it reviews the administration’s fiscal 2011 budget request and other potential future budget requests for additional funds to train and equip Iraqi security forces,” the GAO stated in its audit report.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, America’s budget deficit exceeded $1.3 trillion for fiscal 2010, which ended Sept. 30 the second greatest deficit as a percentage of GDP since World War II.
The greatest? The previous year’s $1.4 trillion deficit.


11 posted on 10/07/2010 8:31:46 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: reaganaut1

Federal Workers Don’t Share Recession Pain
While many workers in the private sector have been suffering the effects of the recession, federal employees have been enjoying a boom in employment and compensation at taxpayers’ expense.
“For nearly two years, millions of private-sector workers have made often painful sacrifices because of failed federal economic policies and skyrocketing federal spending and debt. But the opposite has been true for federal workers,” the Washington Examiner states in an editorial.
According to the Examiner:
Beginning in 2008, federal employees earning $100,000 or more a year rose from 14 percent to 19 percent of the civil service workforce of 2 million.
During that period, Washington added around 100,000 new jobs, while more than 7 million private-sector jobs were lost.
The average compensation for a federal worker now stands at $123,049, more than double the private-sector average.
Of the 10 counties with the highest per capita income, six are in the Washington, D.C., area.
The Heritage Foundation reported that four out of the five jobs President Obama claimed were “created or saved” by the stimulus bill were in government.
Now Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, wants bureaucrats and politicians to share the pain. He has a proposal to furlough all nonessential federal workers for two weeks next year, and to cut the salaries of senators and representatives by 10 percent.
But the House Democratic leadership recently refused to schedule a vote on a bill introduced by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., to cut congressional pay by 5 percent. Coffman’s proposal is not likely to fare much better it’s been 77 years since Congress voluntarily took a pay cut.
But the Examiner warns: “In the year of the Tea Party, if the rest of Congress doesn’t take the Coffman and Kirkpatrick bills seriously, voters will have the opportunity in November to remind them what it’s like to be unemployed.”


12 posted on 10/07/2010 8:33:02 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: reaganaut1
This Administration is the final and crowning fraud of what we have come to know as the ‘government’ in America.

Every crime and every flaw no matter how minute, which was deliberately overlooked or tolerated (for whatever misguided reason) in getting to this point …is now the monolithic and immovable obstacle to ethical and proper functioning.

By now … none of these people in public office rate the least respect or trust from honest and hard working Americans. If they committed NO crime themselves, then they are just as guilty by default. They have all forgotten where they came from and who they represent. I am sick to death with all of them….

For too long they have placed their own interests above their duty and responsibilities. If we wanted the mafia to run America we would not bother with elections. Frankly, I think Mafiosos do a better job running THEIR business than these ‘politicians’ do running OURS!

13 posted on 10/07/2010 8:35:39 AM PDT by SMARTY ("What luck for rulers that men do not think." Adolph Hitler)
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To: reaganaut1

‘War on Poverty’ Wastes a Lot of Ammo to Little Effect
When President Lyndon Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America” in January 1964, the country’s poverty rate was around 19 percent and falling.
Since then, the federal government has spent more than $13 trillion fighting poverty. But a recent report showed that the poverty rate this year is about 15 percent and climbing, and in all the years since “war” was declared, the rate has never fallen below 10.5 percent.
“Welfare spending could arguably be justified if we were actually reducing poverty. But as the recent numbers make clear, we’re not,” Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, writes in an editorial for Investor’s Business Daily.
“Clearly we are doing something wrong. Throwing money at the problem has neither reduced poverty nor made the poor self-sufficient.”
The federal government now has 122 separate anti-poverty programs, with Medicaid the largest. These programs spent more than $590 billion last year roughly $14,850 for every poor person in the country.
Given that the poverty line is $10,830, it would have been cheaper just to mail every poor person a check for $11,000, according to Tanner, author of “The Poverty of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society.”
President George W. Bush boosted welfare spending by about $80 billion over his entire second term, while in just two years President Obama’s administration has increased spending on welfare programs by more than $120 billion, in part by easing eligibility and expanding caseloads. One out of every six Americans now receives some form of government assistance.
“The whole theory underlying our welfare programs is wrong-headed,” Tanner concludes. “We focus far too much on making poverty more comfortable and not enough on creating the prosperity that will get people out of poverty.”


14 posted on 10/07/2010 8:37:05 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: Ev Reeman

“...“We focus far too much on making poverty more comfortable and not enough on creating the prosperity that will get people out of poverty.”

What do you expect with that crowd of selfish, irresponsible thugs in DC who only care about these issues at election time.

THEN they promise the sun the moon and the stars to millions of able bodied wards of the state, just to get themselves re-elected.

Understand that ANY assistance to needy Americans for necessities is an absolute Christian duty and no one who pays taxes begrudges these people this kind of help to get them over rough times.

Also, Americans with disabilities SO severe that they cannot work, are gladly assisted for as long as they need help … and forever if that is what it will take. No one has now or EVER challenged that sentiment. NO ONE!!!!

THAT SAID... nowhere is it written that working Americans must make a gift of their labor or must pawn their futures to subsidize entire masses of lazy, demanding and ungrateful losers who intend to NEVER rehabilitate themselves or become productive…..

Liberals have spewed howling lies about the American taxpayers who are only demanding accountability for existing and badly managed programs rather then accepting the myth that there remain disadvantaged and underserved in this country. He^%... the millions of illegal’s NOW getting benefits they did NOT earn, are living proof that there are NO underserved in this country!!!!! Anyone-absolutely ANYONE can walk up to any hospital or social service agency and receive benefits, no questions asked.

Time to bury this lie.


15 posted on 10/07/2010 9:09:17 AM PDT by SMARTY ("What luck for rulers that men do not think." Adolph Hitler)
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To: Red6

Most voted for the canard of “making capitalism more fair”.

This is why most ‘rats won’t admit to being socialists - they just want “the system” to be “more fair”. Nebulous concepts, both, and ripe for the picking of politicians whose definition of “the system” and “fair” are far different from what their supporters envisioned.

Capitalism is inherently “unfair” because everyone ends up with different amounts of wealth, and this is to be desired - people being rewarded disparately for disparate amounts of talent, effort, and risk taking.


16 posted on 10/07/2010 9:14:04 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a (de)humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: MrB

Capitalism is very fair.

It’s extremely unequal in outcome.

Socialists want “equality” in outcomes, not “fairness” in meaning that the same rules are applied to all. In fact, they will create unfair hiring practices, college admission processes etc, in order to achieve their goal of equality. Socialists/Marxists agree with things like affirmative action because it creates equality, regardless of the choices made, aptitudes, qualifications, experience etc. Equality in college admission meaning that a certain percentage of people will get admitted even if they are less qualified than others makes sense and is common practice today in order to achieve this equality. In a Marxist mind, this egalitarian society where all are equal in all aspects is part of the ideal.


17 posted on 10/07/2010 9:33:49 AM PDT by Red6 (IMHO)
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To: Red6

Leftists/Marxists want to be God.
Nothing has changed since Genesis 3.


18 posted on 10/07/2010 9:40:18 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a (de)humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: reaganaut1
But again there's partisan disagreement. Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans and 55% of unaffiliateds think the government is involved in too many things that should be handled by the private sector. A plurality (49%) of Democrats disagrees.

This is a very interesting statistic, since it essentially measures what people think about the Dem power grab. Patriotic Americans are angry, independents lean toward the patriotic position, and the Dems are somewhere between complacent and indifferent. That's a beautiful indicator that this year will be very nice at the polls.

19 posted on 10/07/2010 10:21:24 AM PDT by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: Red6

Caapitalism works because it has winners and losers.

Capitalism is all about jobs and working hard and earning a paycheck and upward mobility and opportunity for advancement. None of those are bad or evil things.


20 posted on 10/08/2010 6:26:32 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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