There’s yet another poll by the Associated Press that purports to show that most Americans want higher taxes.
This poll — coming about two months after their last poll pushing tax hikes — “reveals” that 56 percent of those polled would agree to higher taxes if traffic jams would go away. Truth is, Americans would agree to about anythingif it meant the end of traffic jams. But what actually happened when Virginians voted on that very question in 2002? By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they said no to sales tax increases to fund road and transit improvements.
Why don’t the media ever ask this question (or one like it): Would you be willing to cut taxes if it would eliminate wasteful government spending?
And speaking of wasteful spending, that same AP poll found that only one in 20 respondents said they used mass transit. If you assume that most transit systems are in cities with 100,000 people or more, then about 3.8 million people use mass transit. Now consider that federal, state and local government spent more than $7.3 billion in 2002 on mass transit. Do the math, and that comes to more than $1,880 for each of those 3.8 million people.
Take it a step farther. The average car gets 25 miles a gallon, and average drivers put about 12,000 miles a year on their cars. That means they are using about 480 gallons of gas a year. Even at $2 a gallon, that’s $960 a year in gas costs. So is the public getting its money’s worth on mass transit?
But the media won’t ask about spending restraint, just tax hikes. Indeed, don’t be surprised if you get this kind of question on the next media poll: Would you be willing to pay higher taxes if it would get you a date with Britney Spears or Brad Pitt? And don’t be surprised at the resulting headline: “Americans Favor Higher Taxes.”
A more truthful headline would be: “Mediain Favor of Higher Taxes, Will Ignore Reality to Prove It.”