According to this poll (cited many places), Obama's approval rating has dropped to 50%.
More than 50% of the population works directly or indirectly for the government. Productive workers spend more than 50% of everything they produce directly or indirectly to the government.
There are a lot of people who profit from State violence, yet don't count as direct government employees. A lawyer earns his huge salary due to State violence, yet counts as "not employed by the government". If you work in the financial industry, you don't count as employed by the government. If you work for the State electricity, telephone, or cable monopolies, then you don't count as employed by the government.
Suppose that the 50% of people who work for the government say that they approve of Obama, and that the 50% of people who don't work for the government say that they disapprove. In that case, a 50% approval rating is really a 0% approval rating.
To be honest, when calculating "approval ratings" for the government, you must subtract the percentage of people who actually work for the government, directly or indirectly.
This illustrates one flaw with a democracy or republic. When 50% or more of the population is dependent on government to earn a living, they are very reluctant to question the State. A democracy encourages politicians to play economic games and provide the illusion that the State is helping them. For example, if you participated in the "Cash for Clunkers" program, then that provides the illusion that the State is helping you. The reality is that you benefit in that instance, but still are a net overall loser to the State.
The fact that a lot of people profit directly or indirectly from State violence means that there's always going to be a certain percentage of people who support the State.
It's interesting to see that "Obama is awesome! He's going to fix everything!" has worn out so quickly. Hopefully, some of the people who were disappointed by Obama will be converted to the philosophy of really free markets.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Obama's Approval Rating Falls Below 0%
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2 comments:
Interesting point FSK. Another thing to note is that the more government assistance they can get people to accept, the more these people wrongly feel that they need the government to support them.
Its like the government is buying peoples support with the indirect approach. I just always wonder what it is going to take to wake the people up. Do I just have to sit and wait for them to have their coffee. Or can I throw them in a cold shower and shake them a bit!!
"The government that will rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul." -- G. B. Shaw
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