At long last Version 7 of Quiz2D is up and running! As I write this I have just put the fifth draft up on the site. (The fifth draft has an added question on abortion.)
I write this post both as a quick announcement and as a placeholder for general comments on the new edition. I’m still taking suggestions on additional answers for the existing questions as well as for additional questions.
I’m especially interested in errors and biased wording. I am open to additional questions and answers to existing questions, but becoming less open day by day. The new edition of the political test is getting pretty long. I’m going for longer as this is a web-only test — the original was kept short for use at fair booths and the like — but even at home on a computer, people do have a patience limit.
Excellent! I will take a look at it in the form that it now exists and suggest any improvements that may come to mind.
Let’s see what we have here…
Thanks for the updated version. I like the fact that the quiz has several answers for each item, allowing for a variety of responses.
I do have feedback on a few things.
First, I think that the quiz may have an unintended centrist bias. I have no basis for saying that except for the fact that the quiz has me pegged as a centrist-leaning conservative. I think I am actually further to the right.
Second, I respectfully suggest some changes to the selection of issues. I don’t think the quiz needs two different questions on drugs; one is plenty. Also, I was surprised not to find sections on taxes, spending, energy, or environmental issues, as these issues are front-and-center issues in the U.S. at this time.
Third, on health care, some additional options and a “more than one of the above”-type response might help, as I believe most conservatives would prefer to repeal President Obama’s health reform and enact tort reform, de-link health insurance from employers, and also allow competition across state lines (a concept that is not mentioned).
Fourth, on abortion, I believe that there should be a response that states that life begins at conception, and that abortion should be unlawful except when the mother’s life is endangered by the continuation of the pregnancy.
Fifth, the immigration item might be improved if there was an option for increasing legal immigration quotas and also sealing the border. Also, it might be good to have an option for “seal the border before taking other legislative steps toward immigration reform.”
Those are my thoughts. Thanks again for updating the quiz.
Thank you Anonymous. I have just adjusted the scores for the various answers, because you are right: too many people scoring within the centrist circle.
Regarding drugs: sorry, those questions are just too important to glop. When the land of the free has a gulag level prison population, then the cause of the incaration is the most important freedom issue. With V6 I saw a very strong signal that legalizing marijuana was way more palatable than legalizing all drugs. This time around I want to see how legal for marijuana, and what reforms, if any, people are up for for the hard drugs.
Spending is implicit in several of the questions: welfare, war, Social Security and healthcare. Saying “cut spending” without saying what is meaningless. Lots of supposed spending cutters just want to cut non-military foreign aid, which is a trivial part of the budget.
Ditto for tax cuts. Cutting taxes does not increase liberty if spending isn’t cut as well. We are now to the left of the Laffer Curve maximum. Cutting from 90 to 70 percent marginal rates does indeed increase revenues. Data indicate the maximum of the curve is around 40% marginal. Cutting below that increases the deficit.You can make a freedom/authority argument regarding how taxes are collected: simple vs. meddling. But it’s too complicated for this format.
Re healthcare: disconnecting from employment is part of several existing answers. Competition across state lines just moves regulation to the federal level purely. Not sure that is a conservative option. Tort reform is important, but I didn’t want to get too many permutations.
As for abortion, the question excludes the situation where the mother’s life is endangered (medical necessity). I realize that one can differ over what constitutes necessity, but that’s for another quiz.
Thank you again. The new scoring function will be up soon.
I second the motion for questions on taxes, energy,environment. For abortion, consider exceptions for victims of rape/incest (perhaps by requiring the approval of a judge, similar to the practice in norway but more strict. For immigration, a path to freedom option (with requirements such as fines/learning English/waiting time for complete citizenship) should be incorperated
I’d love to see some sort of question on progressive taxation. It seems strange to see no mention of proposals like raising income/capital gains taxes on the rich, the flat and fair tax proposals, etc. when these are such major issues.
I have intentionally avoided tax issues for the new edition because too many people say they are for lower taxes and a balanced budget while at the same time they are against the cuts needed to do same. This is a Santa Claus Economics free quiz.
Whether to tax or run deficits is rather ambiguous on the Nolan Chart. Both are government meddling in the economy, albeit with different results.
Your question is important, but it is orthogonal to the Nolan Chart plane. Ifever I do a liberty-equality plane based quiz, I will cover this issue and then some.