[PAA-Discuss] this should be sent to OBAMA

[Lee Loe]

  _____  

From: hwsanborn at comcast.net [mailto:hwsanborn at comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 4:30 PM
To: plymouth-p-j at yahoogroups.com
Cc: seahom at comcast.net; leeloe at igc.org; annbrag at prodigy.net; crush at frii.com
Subject: Fwd: Public opinion is often ignored



Very encouraging.  Hugh


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Bert Golding" <bert.golding at gmail.com>
To: "*Bert Golding" <bert.golding at gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 9:54:09 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Public opinion is often ignored


Sarah van Gelder of Yes Magazine is credited with the following list
of poll results on current American beliefs, indicating "an agenda
that the majority of Americans support, whether they vote red, blue,
green or something else."

It's interesting to note how often politicians respond to small
groups, often allied with major donors, who are very active in
opposition to many of these issues. Actual public opinion needs
organized support and publicity before politicians pay attention.

Bert 
 
67% favor public works projects to create jobs.
 
55% favor expanding unemployment benefits.
 
76% support tax cuts for lower- and middle-income people.
 
71% say unions help their members; 53% say unions help the economy in
general.
 
80% support increasing the federal minimum wage.
 
59% favor guaranteeing two weeks or more of paid vacation.
 
75% want to limit rate increases on adjustable-rate mortgages.
 
58% believe a court warrant should be required to listen to the
telephone calls of people in the U.S.
 
59% would like the next president to do more to protect civil
liberties.
 
79% favor mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions.
 
90% favor higher auto fuel efficiency standards.
 
75% favor clean electricity, even with higher rates.
 
72% support more funding for mass transit.
 
64% believe the government should provide national health insurance
coverage for all Americans, even if it would raise taxes.
 
55% favor one health insurance program covering all Americans,
administered by the government, and paid for by taxpayers.
 
81% oppose torture and support following the Geneva Conventions.
 
76% say the U.S. should not play the role of global police.
 
79% say the U.N. should be strengthened.
 
85% say that the U.S. should not initiate military action without
support from allies.
 
63% want U.S. forces home from Iraq within a year.
 
47% favor using diplomacy with Iran. 7% favor military action.
 
67% believe we should use diplomatic and economic means to fight
terrorism, rather than the military.
 
86% say big companies have too much power in politics
 
65% believe attacking social problems is a better cure for crime than
more law enforcement.
 
87% support rehabilitation rather than a "punishment-only" system.
 
81% say job training is "very important" for reintegrating people
leaving prison. 
 
79% say drug treatment is very important.
 
56% believe NAFTA should be renegotiated.
 
64% believe that on the whole, immigration is good for the country.
 



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20081217/b4f4eb2a/attachment.htm>