FUNNIEST. POLL QUESTIONS. EVER…. It’s the beginning of the month, and you know what that means: Fox News released its new national poll (pdf).
Usually, the interesting part of a national poll is usually the results. As regular readers may recall, what makes Fox News polls entertaining are the questions. Most reputable news outlets try to maintain a degree of seriousness with their poll questions. Fox News, though, prefer to add a little panache to their surveys.
From the Republican network’s latest poll (via Matt Corley):
“Do you think the federal government should increase taxes on the wealthiest individuals so that nobody gets to be too rich?”
Now, there’s a reasonable policy debate to be had over the efficacy of raising the top marginal rate back to where it was when the economy was strong. But I can’t recall anyone in a position of influence ever suggesting a tax policy to prevent Americans from becoming “too rich.”
But the really funny part is that the question may have been too subtle for poll respondents — 40% of Americans think it’s a good idea to use the tax code to prevent people from getting “too rich.” Better yet, nearly one in four Republicans agrees.
The same poll asked:
“Which one of the following do you think Barack Obama wants to happen? He wants the financial crisis to continue so government can take over more businesses and grow the federal government; [or] he wants the financial crisis to end so private businesses can succeed and get stronger without government assistance.”
Oddly enough, 23% of those polled believe the president actively wants the crisis to continue as part of some nefarious scheme. Better yet, 44% of self-identified Republicans believe this about Obama.
Other gems include:
* “Would you be willing to join a symbolic tea party to protest excessive government spending on April 15?”
* “Do you think Barack Obama uses a teleprompter too often?”
* “Do you approve or disapprove of part of the White House grounds being dug up for a new, organic vegetable garden?
* “Do you think the United Nations should be in charge of the worldwide effort to combat climate change and the United States should report to the United Nations on this effort, or should it be up to individual countries and the United States would be allowed to make decisions on its own?
* “Which of the following descriptions do you think better describes the threat from terrorist attacks — the word “terrorism” or the phrase “man-caused disasters”?
Steve M. concluded, “Keep your eye on Fox’s polls — they’re going to get even crazier.”
I can hardly wait.
