Historic Responses To Survey Questions By Our Readers
The following shows our survey questions and answers, along with the
historic percentages of all persons who have taken this survey on this website
since the site's founding in August 2007.
Please note: these results are not in any way, shape, or form scientific.
We do not and cannot claim that visitors to this website are a representative
sampling of the overall U.S. population. The following information is
presented for entertainment purposes only. Rounding errors may result in answers with
percentages which do not perfectly combine to 100%. Here are the results of the survey:
Total Surveys: 327,336
(updated every three minutes)
| 1. Speech, Assembly, Press, Internet,
and Property Rights |
libertarian: 66.4% Government should
not restrict speech, press, media or Internet. The rights of free citizens
who don't violate other people's rights must be respected and protected
at all times. Exercise of eminent domain should be extremely limited and
its use avoided whenever possible. Private property and privacy rights should
be protected at all times.
conservative: 23.2% Speech, assembly,
press, and Internet should be free except when it comes to protecting against
terrorism and other threats to public safety. Free speech zones can be established
to protect the right of free speech while insuring security at public events.
Eminent domain should be maintained in practice, but it should not be available
merely as a means to enrich private developers via enforced land transfers.
liberal: 8.5% Speech, assembly, press, and Internet should be free; however the government has a role
in regulating certain speech, such as criminalizing hate speech and regulating sexual or
violent content over public airwaves. Some limits should also be placed on campaign
contributions to limit excessive influence by special interests and corporate entities.
It is also vital that the State not become a tool to impose religious beliefs in schools
or other public settings and that limited use of eminent domain is acceptable for public
projects like roads and schools, but inappropriate for private projects like shopping malls
or condominiums.
statist: 1.9% Government should
regulate speech, press, media, Internet, and property rights at its own
discretion within reason as needed to meet all of government's many obligations.
|
| 2. Guns |
statist: 4.3% The Second Amendment
only applies to "militias" (such as the National Guard), and thus there
is no specific protection afforded by it to individuals. It should be up
to the government to decide the degree to which guns should be regulated
for the public good.
libertarian: 60.3% The Second Amendment
to the Constitution clearly protects the right of all individuals to bear
arms. Government regulation of guns is a violation of the Second Amendment.
Having the right to self-defense is meaningless without also having the
means to defend yourself. An armed society is a peaceful society, is the
best defense against criminals, and serves as a deterrent against government
tyranny. Gun control has encouraged society to become lax and negligent
in teaching and training on the safe handling and maintenance of weapons
by individuals.
conservative: 29.1% In general, I
support the right to bear arms. However, it is prudent to have government
regulate arms via registration requirements and other regulations to ensure
that mentally unstable people can't get guns and go on shooting rampages.
liberal: 6.3% Gun control is essential
and must continually be made stronger if we're ever going to reduce and
hopefully eliminate gun violence in this country. |
| 3. Homosexual Marriage |
liberal: 16.1% Gay rights should be supported by passing laws which protect gay marriage,
including civil statute alternatives to gay marriage. All government benefits
that heterosexual couples enjoy should also be granted to gay couples.
statist: 11.2% The government should define civil unions and the legal ramifications and rights
attached to such constructs based on scientific study. "Marriage", being a religious
concept, has no place in legal structures, and attempting to legislate morality is inefficient.
libertarian: 44.3% There should be
no laws regarding either heterosexual or homosexual relationships among
consenting adults. Marriage of any kind is a private, contractual matter
between free, private individuals that should not be regulated.
conservative: 28.4% Homosexuality
is an abomination and is banned by the Bible. Gay marriage should be illegal in all
cases. |
| 4. Foreign Policy |
conservative: 33.1% A strong defense
requires playing an active, interventionist role in world affairs. As the
last remaining superpower, we have a moral duty to police the world at any
cost, or else we will surely pay the ultimate price. If we don't militarily
wipe out terrorism, the terrorists will wipe us out. We must resolve to
win no matter how long it takes. It's better to strike now than to pay later
for our inaction.
liberal: 11.1% America should play
an active role in world affairs. We need to move toward more world government,
particularly when it comes to issues such as global warming. The war on
terror should rely heavily on diplomatic action. Military intervention should
be used when there is a threat to our sovereignty.
statist: 9.7% The role of government is to administer, direct and control the nation. Foreign policy,
and the use of our military forces, should always be primarily focused (in order of
importance) on defending the nation from external threats , ensuring internal threats
are neutralized, and promoting a stable world society.
libertarian: 46.2% Peace, commerce
and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none. America's
interventionist policies over the past 100+ years have done little or nothing
to reduce international instability, have led us into an endless series
of wars, and have cost us dearly in American lives and money. The best defense
of our borders is to defend our rights and liberty, not to sacrifice them
while constantly growing our gigantic military, led by a parade of Presidents
who repeatedly stick our nose into other countries' affairs. |
| 5. National ID Card |
libertarian: 60.1% There should be
no national ID card. Period. The issuance of required National IDs controlled
via interconnected databases will effectively end all privacy in this country.
conservative: 10.4% We need a national
ID card in order to prevent events like the attacks of 9/11 but without
intruding too far into the personal privacy of the innocent.
liberal: 14.7% National ID cards
should be permitted but greatly restricted in scope because the potential
for danger to personal liberty is present.
statist: 14.8% I'm not at all concerned
about having a national ID card. Only the guilty need to worry. |
| 6. Corporate
Welfare |
statist: 7.1% The government has a significant role in regulating the market and should
regulate corporations and have state-owned corporations, if necessary.
libertarian: 57.3% End "corporate
welfare." No government handouts to business.
conservative: 15.5% Government involvement
is necessary where private industry can't do the job all by itself. As an
example, agricultural subsidies should continue to support small farmers.
liberal: 20.2% Corporate welfare
should be eliminated for big business, but the social safety net for individuals
should be retained. |
| 7. Trade and Money |
liberal: 14.0% Trade that isn't fair isn't free. Fair trade practices should be enforced
as needed to ensure free trade while maintaining reasonably open borders.
The Fed's policies should be revised to help the poor rather than the rich.
statist: 9.3% The government should
involve itself in the regulation of trade as needed to ensure a healthy
economy at all times. The Federal Reserve system has made our money supply
the most stable in all history.
libertarian: 48.9% End government
barriers to international free trade. The regulation of trade tends to enrich
selected interest groups and industry captains at the expense of everyone
else. We must move away from the inflationary approach of the Federal Reserve
by re-adopting a hard money approach and dissolving the Federal Reserve
system. Ever wonder why prices of everything (including real estate) keep
going up over time? The Federal Reserve system is the culprit.
conservative: 27.7% Trade should
be free in general, but it should be controlled as needed to ensure that
our borders are protected against outside threats. Monetary policy under
the Fed has generally been good for our economy. Hard money can't keep up
with a modern economy. |
| 8. Social Security |
conservative: 17.7% Social Security should be maintained by the government as-is for current and
near retirees, while offering younger workers the choice to invest some of
their retirement money in the private market from Government-maintained and
managed plans. The government should create incentives for private retirement
planning. The government should discourage taking social security early. Payroll
taxes should not be increased to fund social security.
liberal: 10.0% Social
Security is a vital part of the social safety net and should be properly
funded and protected at all times. If necessary, make big business and the
rich pay for any shortfalls.
statist: 9.3% Government has an obligation to provide for it's citizens , both those who are disabled
and those who are retired. Social security is the proper expression of government control,
but as with any program of such size must be constantly adjusted to ensure a lack of
corruption and that it is funded correctly. If need be, the balance should be made to
those who cannot provide for themselves rather than those who simply have not chosen to
provide for themselves.
libertarian: 63.0% Let people control
their own retirement and they'll retire richer and better off. The Social
Security system is already bankrupt, despite what the politicians and bureaucrats
keep telling us. Allow individuals to choose for themselves whether to opt
out of the Social Security system. If we force everyone to remain in its
pyramid scheme, the end result will be disastrous. We must act now before
Social Security becomes completely insolvent. |
| 9. Health Care |
libertarian: 43.5% Government regulation
of health care is the main cause of the health care industry's upward spiraling
costs. The FDA, EPA, Medicare, and a host of other bureaucracies have created
mountains of regulations that have led to the deaths of thousands and even
millions of people who were denied needed treatments and resources. The
cost of creating new treatments is also out of control because of this regulation.
The only way to make health care affordable again is to get government out
of the health care business.
conservative: 33.1% Health care costs
are spiraling primarily due to lawsuits. We need to place caps on these
suits while avoiding socialized medicine. Where possible, we should reduce
regulation to save money. The rising cost of health care is primarily the
fault of big government politicians and lobbying groups.
liberal: 16.9% We need universal health insurance to ensure all Americans are adequately protected.
Insurance companies' and drug companies' greed, lack of competition among insurance
providers, and patent protections on life-saving drugs must be combated. The
government should ensure that no one is denied the right to life-saving medical care
because of the inability to pay for it. Use antitrust legislation and enforcement
to ensure competition.
statist: 6.5% Private enterprise
has failed to deliver satisfactory health care. Government's role is clear:
fix the problem. |
| 10. Taxes, Spending,
and the National Debt |
statist: 4.2% There should be no
limits placed on the ability of government to raise sufficient revenue to
do all the jobs government should be doing better, as expressed via majority
rule.
libertarian: 71.4% Cut
taxes and government spending by 50% or more. This will have an incredibly
positive impact on the economy starting at its very lowest and smallest
levels. The national debt must be paid down rather than endlessly increased,
or we'll soon face national bankruptcy.
conservative: 11.9% The budget should
be balanced and fully funded at all times, rather than actually cutting
spending on a permanent basis. As needed, the national debt should be expanded
to ensure that there is sufficient funding for government operation and
military growth needs. Occasional, temporary tax cuts should be offered
in token amounts to keep the taxpayers mollified.
liberal: 12.6% We should be emphasizing
the good that government can do to help people without getting all wrapped
up in the costs involved. By spreading the load, such good can be spread
out fairly and evenly. Progressive taxation helps ensure that the rich don't
live at the expense of the poor. However, we want to make sure we don't
place too much of a burden on the middle class. |
Share this page on Facebook: Share
|
