Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac

You probably reacted to this post’s title with a “Well, duh!”. But the extent of the unhappiness is very surprising:

• Only 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed (the Declaration of Independence posits that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed”). (Source)
• A majority of Americans (56%) say the federal government poses an immediate threat to freedom of ordinary citizens. (Source)
• A big majority of likely voters  (63%) believe that it would be better for the country if most incumbents in Congress were defeated this November. (Source)
• A vast majority of Americans (75%) are angry at government’s current policies. (Source)
• Only 11% of all voters now think the government spends taxpayers’ money wisely. (Source)
• A vast majority of Americans (83%) say the size of the federal budget deficit is due more to the unwillingness of politicians to cut government spending than to the reluctance of taxpayers to pay more in taxes. (Source)
• A majority of voters (58%) think that if Congress raises taxes to reduce the deficit, Congress is more likely to spend the money on new programs. (Source)
• A majority of Americans (61%) favor a law that would limit the amount of taxes paid to state, local and federal governments so that no one would pay more than 50% of their total income in taxes. (Source)
• 45% of voters think that a random group of people selected from the phone book would be better than our current Congressmen. (Source)
• A majority of voters (59%) believe that cutting taxes would create more jobs than even more government spending. (Source)

The first two polls really shock me. Only 21% of voters think the government currently has the consent of the governed?!? And most people think the government is a threat to our freedoms?!?

The rest of the polls show that people are quite angry at Congress for wasting their money and passing bad laws. They want fewer taxes and less spending. They also think that all incumbent Congressmen should be replaced.

It’s unclear how this anger will manifest itself. Congress doesn’t seem to understand the anger and is seemingly content to keep doing business as usual: more spending, more payouts to special interests, and more taxes wherever they can sneak it in.

When November rolls around, I think we’ll see a lot of incumbents replaced, but this will be limited because Americans tend to think, “my guy is good, those other guys are the problem”. And given that we have a two-party system, the choice still comes down to “Tweedledee vs Tweedledum”. Real change will probably take a bit longer, since it will take a while before we have a real 3rd party alternatives or a massive restructuring of an existing party.