More Proof Politicians Disconnected From Voters

Okay, I've written several blog posts detailing how far the "political class" are disconnected from everyday voters. Here is more evidence of this.

Rasmussen took a telephone poll of likely voters, and found that 75% favored free markets over an economy regulated by the government.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/july_2010/75_say_free_markets_better_than_government_management_of_economy_political_class_disagrees

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Likely Voters prefer free markets over a government managed economy. Just 14% think a government managed economy is better while 11% are not sure.

The problem comes in when you separate those who ARE in the political class from those who are NOT. Voters NOT in the political class prefer free markets by a 90% margin. Those IN the political class prefer a government regulated economy!

Not surprisingly, America’s Political Class is far less enamored with the virtues of a free market. In fact, Political Class voters narrowly prefer a government managed economy over free markets by a 44% to 37% margin. However, among Mainstream voters, 90% prefer the free market.

This massive disconnect is potentially VERY damaging to our country. How long can we last when the views of those involved in governing are so dramatically different from the rest of the country? At its worst, this is a recipe for revolution.

And it's not isolated. A similar question earlier this week yielded similar results.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/july_2010/38_support_one_year_moratorium_on_new_government_regulations_34_oppose

Voters have mixed feelings about government regulation of big business, but most feel small businesses are regulated too much. There is also a strong belief that more competition and less regulation would be better for the economy and job creation.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 38% of Likely Voters are concerned enough to favor the idea of a one-year moratorium on the creation of any new federal government regulations. Thirty-four percent (34%) oppose such a moratorium, while another 28% are not sure.

A similar divide is found when it comes to regulation of big business. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of all voters think there is already too much regulation of big business, but 39% take the opposite view and say there’s not enough.

But when it comes to small business, 53% say there is too much regulation. Only eight percent (8%) believe small businesses are not regulated enough.

While 83% of Mainstream voters believe more competition and less regulation is the better cure for the economy, the Political Class is not so sure. In fact, a plurality (45%) of those in the Political Class feel more regulation and less competition is better for the economy.

I suppose it isn't surprising that those involved in the government and creating regulations think more government and regulations are a good idea, but it is a major problem.