Freedomain Radio - Stefan Molyneux - 1978 Consent of the Governed? (an article reading)
Aired: 2011-08-16
Duration: 02:48


=== Consent of the Governed? (02:02) ===

[00:00:00]  From Rasmussen Reports, new low 17% say U.S. government has consent of the governed.
[00:00:07]  Fewer voters than ever feel the federal government has the consent of the governed.
[00:00:11]  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 17% of likely U.S. voters think the federal government today has the consent of the governed.
[00:00:21]  69% believe the government does not have that consent.
[00:00:25]  14% are undecided.
[00:00:28]  The number of voters who feel the government has the consent of the governed, a foundational principle contained in the Declaration of Independence, is down from 23% in early May and has fallen to its lowest level measured yet.
[00:00:43]  Perhaps it's no surprise voters feel this way, since only 8% believe the average member of Congress listens to his or her constituents more than to their party leaders.
[00:00:52]  That, too, is the lowest level measure to date.
[00:00:56]  84% think the average congressman listens to party leaders more than the voters they represent.
[00:01:02]  Voter approval of the job Congress is doing has fallen to a new low for the second month in a row.
[00:01:08]  Only 6% now rate Congress' performance as good or excellent.
[00:01:14]  Democrats, and voters not affiliated with either political party, are more inclined to think the government does have the consent of the governed.
[00:01:22]  But sizable majorities of all three groups don't believe that to be the case.
[00:01:27]  55% of the political class, on the other hand, feel the government does have the consent of the governed.
[00:01:32]  77% of mainstream voters disagree.
[00:01:37]  Voters also are more convinced than ever that most congressmen are crooks.
[00:01:43]  Most voters still lack confidence even in their own local Congress member.
[00:01:46]  Given a choice between keeping the entire Congress or picking a new one and starting over, most voters want to dump all the incumbents.
[00:01:55]  An overwhelming majority of voters nationwide want members of Congress to take a pay cut until the federal budget is balanced.

=== Voter Discontent Rising (00:46) ===

[00:02:02]  A plurality, 48%, want President Obama to take a pay cut too, until that day comes.
[00:02:09]  As for the debt ceiling agreement reached in Congress, just 22% of voters nationwide approve of the new law, while 53% disapprove.
[00:02:18]  The majority of voters also disapproved of how both sides handled the debt debate.
[00:02:24]  The President and Congress agreed to cut a trillion dollars in federal spending over the next decade as part of the debt ceiling deal, but most voters doubt that will actually happen.
[00:02:36]  Most voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care law, as they have every week but once since Congress passed it in March 2010.
[00:02:45]  That's the end of the article, as I have said many years ago.