Friday, February 25, 2022

Economics and Politics

    Poll numbers, even from the best of the tabulators, can easily be rephrased to fit a political message.
   One reading of a poll by the Marist folk, done for NPR and PBS, says President Joe Biden's first year in office was "a failure," with 56 percent of the respondents saying that, compared to 39 percent who called it a success.
   But looking a bit further shows that 80 percent of Democrats call it a success, compared to just 7 percent of Republicans asked the same question in the same poll. Some 66 percent of Independents called the first year in office a failure, and 28 percent labeled it a success, according to the poll.
   The Marist pollsters are widely regarded as neutral, as are the broadcast outlets NPR and PBS, so it's important to look at the political leanings of those polled, and consider that some will be negative about a government of the opposite party no matter the question.
   Nevertheless, it can be useful to look at the surrounding world circumstances at the time of the survey and to compare it to past behaviors and results.

No comments:

Post a Comment