This is an archive of the old Stones Cry Out site. For the current site, click here.
« Kelo’s Consequences | Main | Avoiding Ethical Complications in Stem Cell Research »
August 26, 2005
The Dumbest Poll Question Ever
We often deal with polls and the science behind them here at Stones Cry Out. But John Podhoretz has found what has to be the dumbest poll question ever (hat tip: Polipundit):
In the category of dumbest poll question ever, you'll be delighted to know we have a winner. It's ABC News, which has taken the coveted prize because it actually paid polling firm cash dollars to ask 1,002 Americans whether they were "dissatisfied with the price of gas."Guess what? Ninety-four percent said they were! Americans are actually upset that a gallon of gas now costs nearly three times what it cost three years ago. Be still, my heart! What a shocker!
But many of them are not merely "upset." The pollsters say that 44 percent of Americans are actually angry about paying an average of $2.50 per gallon.
Silly me. I figured they'd be happy about it, but I guess ABC has set me straight. This is idiot empiricism at its finest. Maybe this weekend, ABC will ask Americans if they eat food, or if the ground gets wet when it rains.
I'm not sure which is more surprising: that ABC actually paid a polling firm to ask this question or that 6% of the respondents didn't understand the question.
Posted by Tom at August 26, 2005 11:44 AM
Trackback Pings
Comments
Look at MommyCool.com for a great cartoon about what happened to one mom's piggy bank when adding gas to her minivan yesterday.
Posted by: PapaCool at August 26, 2005 01:08 PM
Heck, I've been dissatisfied with the price of gas since about 1980 when it first hit a dollar a gallon. Still waiting for my call from ABC News.
Posted by: Mona at August 26, 2005 01:36 PM
The other 6% work for the oil/gas companies. :)
Posted by: WeekendFisher at August 30, 2005 10:42 PM
I'm dissatisfied with the price of gas, too. I wish it were higher.
It is estimated that if you factor in deaths and disabilities caused by the personal auto and its pollution, all the roadwork we do, the military and its use to defend "our" oil, societal costs arising from pollution and pollution abatement, etc; if you factor all that in, then placed that cost in a gas tax so that drivers paid responsibly as they went, then gas would cost anywhere from $5-15/gallon (and this study was from nearly a decade ago, I'm guessing it would be higher now).
So, yeah, I'm dissatisfied, too. I'll agree, tis a dumb question.
Posted by: Dan Trabue at August 31, 2005 08:48 AM