Posted on 11/21/2008 8:24:46 AM PST by ChessExpert
However you regard the outcome of the November 4 election, it was heartening to watch 125 million Americans cast their ballots at precincts from coast to coast. Unfortunately, they and the many millions more who skipped the whole thing collectively know frightfully little about the government we just reaffirmed, the principles that undergird it, and the basic documents in which those ideas are enshrined. Thus, Americans slouch into the 21st Century -- a free and confident people blissfully unaware of how we got here or how we shall continue our 232-year-old tradition of limited self-government.
Consider these staggering data:
*Fully 71 percent of Americans flunked a 33-question civic-literacy survey conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Among 2,508 respondents ISI randomly selected, 1,791 failed this test of U.S. historical, political, and economic basics. The average score was just 49 out of 100 -- a solid F. While just 2.6 percent scored Bs on this quiz, only 0.8 percent earned As.
It’s a very curious, almost uniquely American phenomenon. The nation with the most freedom has the most with no clue as to what guarantees those freedoms.
The libs have it right apparently: repeat lies and myths and half-truths long enough and enough simpletons will pick up the thread and believe them wholesale.
You can see it every day in letters to the editor where ‘separation of church and state’ is repeated ad infintum including references to it appearing in the First Amendment which of course it does not.
Well I received a 23/33. I found it kinda difficult. If it weren’t for Free Republic I would have done worse. The final analysis was stated that I need much more Free Republic time in order to increase your score. I agree with that assessment.
I was surprised to get 33/33.
As a Canadian, I can only say that the education policies of our respective governments, although ostensibly established for the benefit of children, work out in the real world to disempower people through ignorance.
“Ignorance is Strength”, I suppose.
21/33....aargghhhh
I thought I was smahta than that
I’m taking a Mulligan
Obviously, this is incorrect. When adjusted for the fact that the questions were (probably) racist and unfair to minorities, as well as starting at the base scoring floor of 50% (supported by the NEA), the actual average score (adjusted to include the NEA base scoring floor) then becomes 99%!!
So, clearly, this means that the average voter is EXTREMELY knowledgeable of civics, exceptionally intelligent, and looks pretty dang good wearing one of those cheesehead hats!!!
/sarc
Still eating lunch at my desk, but I had to go and take the test-I got a 28/33, and now I’ve got a greasy keyboard.
What would you suggest is a better answer?
Basic math says it does.
... however, if the government doesn’t spend any more than it takes in in taxes, it’s debt is certainly going to be zero.
You won't have a deficit, but you may still have debt...
30/33. And my vote counted only slightly less than the jagoff who went 0/33 and voted 14 times. What a country.
31/33 - I am/was ignorant of Plato & Socrates w/r/t systems of government.
It puzzles me why a report about the abysmal level of knowledge possessed by American voters should start with cheers for the large number of Americans who voted. Wouldn’t the obvious observation be dismay at the large number of ignorant Americans who voted?
I call for efforts to discourage voter turnoout in 2010. That is my new cause. How about a new organization that gives people quizzes then tells them whether they are ready to vote. It isn’t denial of the right to vote, only a recommendation. “Let’s see, your voter knowledge score suggests your dachsund is better prepared. How about reading a couple of books then trying again?” Lapel buttons could proclaim, “I know enough to vote!”
Well, if I am learning anything in my Master's level Economics course right now, I think that the deal here is the difference between the words "deficit" and "debt". Let's say that the government was carrying a $10 trillion dollar federal debt (total accumulated debt) at the end of Fiscal Year 2008. If, however, the government is able to "balance the budget" in FY09 (um, not likely under BHO, but for the sake of this argument...), and revenue = taxes for the year, then the deficit for FY09 is going to be $0. The federal debt, however, will most definitely NOT be $0 -- it will still be $10 trillion (less any interest paid/accrued).
My $0.02...
OK now Freepers. Without looking it up...
What are the five freedoms recognized by the 1st Amendment???
When my brother asked me this I got 4/5, and you would not believe the one I missed!
I also got #33 wrong. I reluctantly chose A as the best answer.
They list no good answer for question 33. Answer A is wrong, for example. It should be "government deficit is zero". The supposedly correct answer, D, is correct only if you assume it actually reads "average tax per person equals average government spending per person". Their choice E, "tax loopholes and special-interest spending are absent" hints at the importance of the word "average". Tax burdens and spending benefits are wildly unequal regardless of whether the government is running a deficit or a surplus.
0/33! I couldn’t find the damn test!
Oops! Dachshund was improperly spelled. My need for glasses grows with each day.
28 out of 33.....not too shabby
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