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Well, this week, the esteemed pollsters at Gallup made some headlines when, for the first time, President Barack Obama's approval rating dipped below 40 percent. That result underpinned any number of stories that read, "Terrible Economy Presents Problems For Obama." Well, that's undeniably true. But a less remarked-upon bit of polling from Gallup is this bit here, in which they set out to gauge the nation's "economic confidence." What they found was remarkably consistent -- state by state, there are more people lacking in confidence than there are people who feel the economy has turned around.
So once again, the real story is, "Terrible Economy Presents Problems For Ordinary Americans." But if you don't see those stories, there's a reason why, and it has everything to do with the one outlier in Gallup's findings. If you want a hint as to where that outlier is, consider this: every single one of this poll's respondents said they were currently employed. In every state, Gallup spoke to people who are at least fortunate enough to have a job
The biggest gap between the District of Columbia and the rest of the country is created by the second question used to create the Economic Confidence Index, on whether the economy is getting better or worse.
In every state, a majority of residents think the economy is getting worse. In the nation’s capital, however, a full 60 percent of people think the economy is getting better.
It's actually remarkable that Gallup's results yield this distortion, because by other measures, the Beltway bubble is even more pronounced. If you connect Washington, D.C., with Virginia's D.C.-adjacent affluent neighborhoods Alexandria and Arlington, the unemployment rate (from June) is 6.2 percent.
Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.
Rasmussen’s Political Class
Rasmussen has defined a really fantastic concept for its poll interpretations: the Political Class. The very name evokes images of power elites and pundits, fervently applauding their own efforts while peppering their language with meaningless phrases like “the American people” and “Main Street” (vs. “Wall Street”). Oh, you didn’t get all that from it? Well, I did… Maybe I’m too bitter. Anyway, the Political Class is that small group of elites and its ardent supporters, the ones who try to brand themselves as populists but are in fact concerned primarily with the goodness of their own power and authority.
Rasmussen defines the category based on a three-question poll:
1. Generally speaking, when it comes to important national issues, whose judgment do you trust more – the American people or America’s political leaders?
2. Some people believe that the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Has the federal government become a special interest group?
3. Do government and big business often work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors?
The idea is that each one has three acceptable answers (the populist answer, the elitist answer, and “I don’t know”), and your category is assigned based on your responses. So if you give the elitist answer to 2 questions and I don’t know to a third, or the elitist answer to all three, you’re in the Political Class..... dingodonkey.wordpress.com...
Originally posted by summer5
DC is hurting in the job market, this I know for a fact. However, you have many government employed individuals in that area. Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.
Originally posted by jdub297
Originally posted by summer5
DC is hurting in the job market, this I know for a fact. However, you have many government employed individuals in that area. Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.
Given that the poll covered EMPLOYED people in a small area surrounding the capitol, I can see them being very happy with their prospects.
Thank you! I meant to mention that as well. If you poll employed people in ANY location, you will most likely find them happy with their prospects.
In every state, a majority of residents think the economy is getting worse
.
In the nation’s capital, however, a full 60 percent of people think the economy is getting better.
Thank you! I meant to mention that as well. If you poll employed people in ANY location, you will most likely find them happy with their prospects.
How H1B Visa FRAUD is killing America
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By thejcrevelator2
How H1B Visa FRAUD is killing America
The H1B visa was established by government to help American companies like Microsoft and others find workers they needed, when there were NO AMERICANS qualified to do the job.
From the beginning this was a fraud because this case is so rare it didn’t need any help from government. In fact American Universities have always produced more graduates than American business can hire and in all specialties.
This program was sold to congress based on the FACT there were NO qualified Americans to take the job. Big companies like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Intel, and others said they just couldn’t find enough engineers, programmers, project managers, program managers, database managers, network managers, etc in America.
Even during the high tech bubble this was NEVER TRUE!
I witnessed this FRAUD personally as workers in high tech companies were forced out and replaced by foreigners. American workers were required to train their foreign replacements. Yes they were given the following alternative: get fired this week or stay on for 90 days and train the INDIAN worker we hired to take your job..... thejcrevelator2.hubpages.com...