It is no surprise that many Americans think that government represents the greatest threat to their future, especially when there are stories everywhere about how elected officials from the President on down willfully ignore the will of the voters and no longer care about having our consent to rule.
According to a Gallup poll published this week, the top 5 issues are:
1. Government/Congress/Politicians
2. Economy in General
3. Unemployment/Jobs
4. Healthcare
5. Immigration
In that light, Californians have reason to dread the convening of the legislature, which starts back up Monday.
Consider that more than 900 new laws went into effect on January 1st, including sweeping changes that caught many Californians complete by surprise. For example, many people have noticed that egg prices have skyrocketed, but very few knew that the cause was a well-meaning voter initiative to protect animals from cruelty. Who’d be against that?
Answer: probably a lot of voters–if they knew it would price eggs, a cheap source of protein, out of the diet of many poor Americans. Proposition 2 forces egg producers to restructure their cages dramatically, due to the passage of an animal rights bill that requires dramatically more space per chicken in captivity. In the Midwest, many egg producers are complaining that now they’ll have to heat the cages, an issue that was previously solved by body heat due to the close proximity of the birds. So, importing eggs won’t offer a low-cost alternative the way we’ve seen with fruit and produce and other agricultural products; expect egg prices to go even higher.
Under another new law, SB1159, illegal aliens “will no longer be required to have a valid Social Security number to obtain state licenses that will permit them to work as doctors, dentists, nurses or security guards, or in a host of other professions.”
Another bill, AB1014, allows the governmentt–without due process–to confiscate your guns or ban you from purchasing a firearm on the word of a “family member” (very loosely defined as anyone who has ever lived with you for 6 months).
It will be interesting to see how Republicans respond to the concerns of the average American. In almost every election exit poll, voters made it clear they wanted President Obama’s Amnesty and ObamaCare stopped.
Voters consider new most new laws and restrictions a threat to the economy, to their freedom and their future. The Gallup poll confirms the exit polls from the November election. Democrats were perceived as a threat on the majority of these issues, and they lost big across the country. However, the GOP had better beware.
This top 5 list does not match the issues highlighted by the typical GOP establishment campaign. The national Republican Party is at odds with most Americans on immigration and a number of other issues in the top ten list of concerns. If the GOP continues to ignore the concerns of the people because they do not consider them palatable, they will go back to losing elections again, starting in 2016.
Should be an interesting Presidential election. Stay tuned.
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