Comments on: Americans’ fear of big government grows

By: Cutting through the red tape | Sutherland Daily

Cutting through the red tape | Sutherland Daily — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:19:54 +0000

[...] the size and intrusiveness of government got you singing the holiday blues? You’re not alone. Fortunately the state has seen the writing on the wall and has proposed a list of changes to [...]

By: Jesse Harris

Jesse Harris — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:44:33 +0000

Things like SOPA/Protect IP and the NDAA are reasons why a lot of Democrats are starting to consider big government a threat. Indefinite detention of American citizens and forfeiture of online accounts and domains with no due process rankle more than just civil libertarians.

By: JBT

JBT — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:00:11 +0000

The use of vague comments and unsupported vague suppositions to defend a vague poll question seems to fit Matthew. At least you are consistent. You folks at Sutherland seem to troll the media to find articles which support your preconceived biases, and then present those articles as fact.

What qualifies you to speak for “most people”? That sounds a bit arrogant to me.

By: Matthew Piccolo

Matthew Piccolo — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:57:40 +0000

What it shows, I think, is that people fear “big government,” however they define it. Obviously we all have different ideas on what government should and should not do, but most people agree that there are a lot of things government should not do, whatever those things are for them, and they don’t want it to get too big in those ways.

I agree, though, that the poll could be more meaningful by specifying what “big government” means.

By: JBT

JBT — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:25:52 +0000

This poll is meaningless without a clear definition of “big government”.

If “smaller government” meant the gutting of the protections currently afforded to US citizens by the FDA, TSA, FAA, CDC, etc. how many would vote for smaller government?

If “smaller government” meant the end of Pell Grants, student loans, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, School Lunch Programs, Food Stamps, etc. how many would vote for smaller government?

If smaller government meant drastic cuts to the Defense Department and the nation’s self defense, how many would vote for smaller government?