The Charlie Brown Public is finally catching on to Government Lucy's pull-back-the-football trick. In a new Gallup poll, a record-high 81 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed. The news there is that there are still 19 percent who haven't figured out the Matrix we're in yet. Among the more interesting results:
Americans believe, on average, that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, similar to a year ago, but up significantly from 46 cents a decade ago and from an average 43 cents three decades ago.
49% of Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.
I know some will be horrified that those numbers are so high, and there's a certain amount of justification for the dismay. A constitutional republic depends absolutely on the consent of the government, and the greater the cynicism, the less likely the consent. But, honestly, I'm surprised they're as low as they are. I'd be delighted if the government wasted only 51 cents of every tax dollar. And those 51 percent who don't yet grasp that govenment "poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens" -- how many times do they have
