Economic Liberals are those in the Liberal quadrant while being below the equator, and are outside the center ring but at least 26 points from the left corner.
Guns | Should the Second Amendment stay in force? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
33.2% | 3292 | 30.4% | 84.7 | NO! Private gun ownership is too dangerous. (The 2nd Amendment is an obsolete relic from frontier days.) | 0 |
33.1% | 3506 | 32.4% | 79.4 | No. Ban private handguns. Carefully control hunting weapons. | 24 |
27.1% | 3282 | 30.3% | 69.5 | OK, but require registration and background checks. | 50 |
4.7% | 544 | 5.0% | 72.4 | Yes. Legal handguns actually prevent crime, save lives, and give women equality. (And registration requirements are a dangerous slippery slope.) | 75 |
1.9% | 205 | 1.9% | 77.9 | YES! Private MILITARY arms are the last bastion against tyranny. (And gun registration is a dangerous slippery slope) | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 77.6 | Total | 26.9 |
Subsidies & Tariffs | Should the government help certain "important" industries using subsidies, quotas, and/or tariffs? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
41.1% | 4146 | 38.3% | 76.8 | Yes! It is high time that the US implement an Industrial Policy, guiding industries to our national purpose. | 0 |
22.9% | 2445 | 22.6% | 72.6 | Yes. The Freedom to Farm Act and free trade with Mexico have hurt too many workers. Repeal them. | 27 |
21.9% | 2625 | 24.2% | 64.8 | Some. The current amount of support for distressed industries is about right. | 52 |
10.4% | 1205 | 11.1% | 67.1 | No. Subsidies keep inefficient industries in this country keeping us poorer in the long run. Limit subsidies to help out in short term crises only. | 77 |
3.7% | 408 | 3.8% | 70.4 | NO! Giving taxpayer money to favored industries is theft, pure and simple! Eliminate all subsidies, quotas and protective tariffs. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 71.6 | Total | 29.3 |
Education | Should the public schools be privatized? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
82.4% | 8859 | 81.8% | 94.6 | NO! We need to extend the public schools to day care and college. | 0 |
16.4% | 1827 | 16.9% | 91.4 | No. We need continued government ownership of schools. (Reform is possible.) | 45 |
0.9% | 99 | 0.9% | 89.0 | Yes. Replace government-owned schools with government-provided vouchers for everyone. | 60 |
0.2% | 26 | 0.2% | 82.8 | Yes! Government vouchers for the poor only. (Let the middle and upper classes write their own checks.) | 80 |
0.1% | 18 | 0.2% | 75.9 | YES! Complete separation of education and state. (Let churches and other charities educate the poor.) | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 93.9 | Total | 8.2 |
Social Security | Should Social Security be phased out? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
32.4% | 3315 | 30.6% | 83.9 | NO! All we have to do is start investing the Social Security trust fund in the stock market. | 0 |
38.6% | 4142 | 38.2% | 80.1 | NO! Raise taxes as necessary when the baby boomers retire. | 20 |
20.4% | 2342 | 21.6% | 74.9 | No, but pay down the national debt now, before the baby boomers retire. | 50 |
4.3% | 528 | 4.9% | 70.4 | Some. Ramp up the retirement age so the average number of years for receiving government checks is brought back down to 5. | 60 |
2.1% | 249 | 2.3% | 74.1 | Yes. Replace Social Security with a purely aged-based MINIMUM income (comparable to current minimum Social Security payouts) funded out of general revenues. | 68 |
1.3% | 159 | 1.5% | 71.0 | Yes. Replace Social Security with a forced savings plan for the young. | 76 |
0.8% | 94 | 0.9% | 71.4 | YES! Complete separation of retirement and state. Let people plan their own retirement. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 79.3 | Total | 23.8 |
Workplace | Should the government continue to regulate employment relations in the name of Civil Rights? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
34.0% | 3449 | 31.8% | 85.1 | YES! A job is a right. The burden of proof lies on the employer to fire anyone. All firings should be subject to judicial review. | 0 |
46.5% | 4995 | 46.1% | 80.3 | Yes! Workplace equality has not yet been achieved. Clearly more action is required. | 20 |
16.2% | 1963 | 18.1% | 71.0 | Yes. About what it is now. (Sure, some of the lawsuits are ridiculous, but it takes dire threats to bring certain employers into line.) | 44 |
2.5% | 319 | 2.9% | 67.8 | No. The penalties for discrimination and/or offending people have gotten way out of line. The loss of a job is worth a few months' pay in damages at most. | 79 |
0.8% | 103 | 1.0% | 66.1 | NO! Hiring and working should be purely voluntary activities. (The marketplace will punish discriminators.) | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 79.6 | Total | 19.2 |
Taxes & Spending | Should the size of government be significantly reduced (over a period of time)? | ||||
ECONOMIC | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
65.4% | 6976 | 64.4% | 83.2 | NO! Government is too small. There are vital programs that are under-funded. | 0 |
19.1% | 2128 | 19.7% | 79.6 | No. Government is about the right size. | 40 |
13.2% | 1456 | 13.4% | 80.5 | Yes. Cut by 10-20% (eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse...). | 55 |
1.1% | 118 | 1.1% | 79.4 | Yes! Cut significantly, 30-40%. | 65 |
0.5% | 61 | 0.6% | 77.6 | Yes! Cut spending roughly in half. | 75 |
0.5% | 54 | 0.5% | 81.1 | YES! Cut 70% or more. (The rightful function of government is to protect our borders and enforce laws protecting life, liberty and property.) | 86 |
0.3% | 36 | 0.3% | 69.3 | YES!! Taxation is theft! Government should be run from voluntary contributions and user fees only. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 82.0 | Total | 16.7 |
The Draft | Should military service be voluntary, or should there be a draft? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18.5% | 2011 | 18.6% | 69.2 | Everyone should have the experience of two years of "National Service" (can be non-military). | 0 |
11.2% | 1285 | 11.9% | 65.4 | No draft now, but keep draft registration. | 50 |
30.7% | 3475 | 32.1% | 66.6 | Under extreme circumstances a draft could be acceptable. However, we do not need draft registration now. | 70 |
10.3% | 1088 | 10.0% | 71.4 | In times of crisis the problem is not lack of volunteers; the problem is lack of a prepared populace. Add military training to the basic high school curriculum and make training camps available without further obligation. | 80 |
29.3% | 2970 | 27.4% | 74.2 | The draft is slavery and therefore morally unacceptable. A country that needs a draft to defend itself deserves to lose. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 69.5 | Total | 64.6 |
Censorship | Should the FCC regulate the content of broadcast television? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15.9% | 1615 | 14.9% | 77.3 | Yes! The government should own the air waves. We need a system like the BBC. | 0 |
12.4% | 1328 | 12.3% | 73.2 | Yes. We need less sex, less violence, and/or more "educational" TV. | 25 |
21.0% | 2372 | 21.9% | 69.7 | Yes. The current level of FCC power is about right. | 50 |
31.0% | 3453 | 31.9% | 70.7 | No. Let broadcasters choose content and format. Only require that they scramble the really rude stuff. | 76 |
19.8% | 2061 | 19.0% | 75.6 | No! Any government censorship is intolerable. Give broadcasters the same freedoms of expression enjoyed by publishers of books and magazines -- including how much sex, violence and crude language. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 72.7 | Total | 56.9 |
Sex | Should the government have laws regulating sex between consenting adults? Should they be enforced? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.8% | 190 | 1.8% | 68.1 | Yes! It is time to actually enforce laws against sex out of wedlock and certain "deviant" acts. | 0 |
2.1% | 211 | 1.9% | 69.8 | Yes. Time to enforce the laws against certain "deviant" acts. | 25 |
2.1% | 218 | 2.0% | 66.6 | Yes. Time to enforce the laws against sex out of wedlock. | 30 |
8.3% | 962 | 8.9% | 60.2 | Well, keep current sodomy and fornication laws on the books to make a statement, but don't enforce them. | 50 |
35.2% | 3905 | 36.1% | 63.1 | No. Sodomy and fornication laws are unenforceable and obsolete. Take them off the books. | 76 |
50.5% | 5343 | 49.3% | 66.2 | NO! The government has no right to regulate sex between consenting adults. Take all such laws off the books, including laws against prostitution. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 64.7 | Total | 82.5 |
Drugs | Should the War on Drugs continue? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7.0% | 667 | 6.2% | 83.1 | YES! And we need to redouble our efforts! More life sentences! More mandatory drug tests! More no-knock warrants! | 0 |
11.6% | 1170 | 10.8% | 77.7 | Yes! Continue on our present course. | 44 |
17.9% | 1958 | 18.1% | 72.0 | Well yes, but obey the Constitution. Repeal civil asset forfeiture and/or lessen some of the more outrageous punishments. | 59 |
51.9% | 5813 | 53.7% | 70.3 | No. Legalize the safer drugs such as marijuana. Tax and regulate them like liquor. | 81 |
11.6% | 1221 | 11.3% | 74.8 | No! Legalize all recreational drugs for adult use. (What you take is none of the government's business as long as you handle your 'high' responsibly.) | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 72.7 | Total | 69.3 |
Immigration | Is illegal immigration a serious problem? Does it justify the cost and lost rights necessary to keep people out? | ||||
PERSONAL | |||||
Weighted Percent | Number | Unweighted Percent | Average Weight | Answer Text | Answer Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14.6% | 1447 | 13.4% | 81.7 | Illegal immigration is a serious problem. Institute a national ID for everyone. | 0 |
20.3% | 2113 | 19.5% | 77.7 | Illegal immigration is a serious problem, but the solution is more border patrol and/or use of the military to guard the borders better. | 40 |
18.4% | 2210 | 20.4% | 67.5 | Keep the current system more or less. | 50 |
27.4% | 3016 | 27.9% | 73.5 | Keep the immigration quotas but keep our Constitutional rights also. Eliminate the proof of legal residency requirement to get a job. | 72 |
19.3% | 2043 | 18.9% | 76.6 | Immigrants are a blessing to this country. Open the gates! Just require that they pay their own way. | 100 | 100% | 10829 | 100% | 74.8 | Total | 56.4 |