Interesting detail report by Gallop polls

[Guest]

Take note of the trends and the calendar at the bottom. Most trends have a starting point going back at least 10 years. Be sure to give a good look at each category.

I think this report and the ones to follow it represent the feelings of Americans....not R or D or black or white or hispanic etc.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/149678/Americans-Express-Historic-Negativity-Toward-Government.aspx

btk

[Guest]

btk..Great report that reaaly tells it like it is..The one sad part is when you read it, my understanding of the findings is that most everyone is unhappy...but not at their own party...Partisan politics seems to take hold beyond reason and the fanaticism may end up being the downfall of us all.

[Guest]

btk..Great report that reaaly tells it like it is..The one sad part is when you read it, my understanding of the findings is that most everyone is unhappy...but not at their own party...Partisan politics seems to take hold beyond reason and the fanaticism may end up being the downfall of us all.

There is "fanaticism" on BOTH sides, not just on the side you oppose and stereotype as a whole.

There are radical anarchists and unibomber kooks on BOTH sides.

[Guest]

you are absolutely right..There is fanaticism on all sides,and that includes democrats...If you read most of my posts that has come up many times..I have always said All incumbents out as I see noone there that has our best interests at heart..There is a select few that believes only they have the right side and yes that is the TEA PARTY EXTREMISTS....

[Guest]

you are absolutely right..There is fanaticism on all sides,and that includes democrats...If you read most of my posts that has come up many times..I have always said All incumbents out as I see noone there that has our best interests at heart..There is a select few that believes only they have the right side and yes that is the TEA PARTY EXTREMISTS....

Yes, the Tea Party is extremely fond of low taxes, small government, lower deficits, responsible budgets and immigration enforcement.;)

[Guest]

you are absolutely right..There is fanaticism on all sides,and that includes democrats...If you read most of my posts that has come up many times..I have always said All incumbents out as I see noone there that has our best interests at heart..There is a select few that believes only they have the right side and yes that is the TEA PARTY EXTREMISTS....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm "Tea Party Extemists"

The Tea Party wants government officials to lower taxes, cut spending, abide by the U. S. Consitution, reduce government regulations. They organize and march respectfully some with signs that appropriately reflect their beliefs.

If that is the definition of an extremist then we need more to get the attention of those ivory tower "let them eat cake" types.

[Guest]

And once again the spoiled brats in Congress,aka tea party members, are pepared to shut down the government for 1/25th of 1% of the budget...

[Guest]

hrp01, no matter how small the savings is, it has to start someplace. All I have heard from our elected criminals is the savings is so small it doesn't matter. Well, all those small savings start to add up and before you know it, back in black again with money to spare.

I am tired of the same ole song, its to small to matter. Give me a break.

[Guest]

And once again the spoiled brats in Congress,aka tea party members, are pepared to shut down the government for 1/25th of 1% of the budget...

Did you notice that the Republicans passed a boll providing the necessary funds to keep the government open and fully functional on a timely basis. They also did the responsible thing and found a way to pay for it by reducing subsidies to green energy companies such as Solyndra. The Dems are determined to keep shelling out the cash, despite the lessons of Solyndra and the Volt. Solyndra cost the taxpayers around $500,000,000. Volt sales have yet to reach 4,000 in total. GM was provided a subsidy of $250 million to develop and bring the Volt into production. The Korean company that makes the batteries received $140 million.

The Volt sells for $40,000 and the buyer is provided a US Govt paid rebate of $7,500. The end result is that each Volt produced to date has cost its owner $32,000 and the US taxpayer $140,000. It seems to me that the Republican congress is acting responsibly in stopping money from continuing to be poured down this rathole. The spoiled brats are the Dems who are mad because someone is threatening to put an end to their drunken spending spree.

[Guest]

Did you notice that the Republicans passed a boll providing the necessary funds to keep the government open and fully functional on a timely basis. They also did the responsible thing and found a way to pay for it by reducing subsidies to green energy companies such as Solyndra. The Dems are determined to keep shelling out the cash, despite the lessons of Solyndra and the Volt. Solyndra cost the taxpayers around $500,000,000. Volt sales have yet to reach 4,000 in total. GM was provided a subsidy of $250 million to develop and bring the Volt into production. The Korean company that makes the batteries received $140 million.

The Volt sells for $40,000 and the buyer is provided a US Govt paid rebate of $7,500. The end result is that each Volt produced to date has cost its owner $32,000 and the US taxpayer $140,000. It seems to me that the Republican congress is acting responsibly in stopping money from continuing to be poured down this rathole. The spoiled brats are the Dems who are mad because someone is threatening to put an end to their drunken spending spree.
:agree: Excellent post!!!!!

[Guest]

The Dems are determined to keep shelling out the cash, despite the lessons of Solyndra and the Volt. Solyndra cost the taxpayers around $500,000,000. Volt sales have yet to reach 4,000 in total. GM was provided a subsidy of $250 million to develop and bring the Volt into production. The Korean company that makes the batteries received $140 million.

The Volt sells for $40,000 and the buyer is provided a US Govt paid rebate of $7,500. The end result is that each Volt produced to date has cost its owner $32,000 and the US taxpayer $140,000. It seems to me that the Republican congress is acting responsibly in stopping money from continuing to be poured down this rathole. The spoiled brats are the Dems who are mad because someone is threatening to put an end to their drunken spending spree.

This is a perfect example of slanting numbers for a political agenda.

The Volt has been ramping up production. It's like declaring it a failure becase it was only being sold in 13 states *as planned*. They built 4300 Volts before shutting the plant down in June to retool so that their manufacturing capacity would increase to 60,000 per year for 2012.

Once again, the trend of being ever more myopic shows itself. Just like corporations who only look to the next quarter's numbers, people can't look past the immediate here and now.

[Guest]

This is a perfect example of slanting numbers for a political agenda.

The Volt has been ramping up production. It's like declaring it a failure becase it was only being sold in 13 states *as planned*. They built 4300 Volts before shutting the plant down in June to retool so that their manufacturing capacity would increase to 60,000 per year for 2012.

Once again, the trend of being ever more myopic shows itself. Just like corporations who only look to the next quarter's numbers, people can't look past the immediate here and now.

You are right in two numbers. The first is that the Volt plant was shut after producing 4300 cars of which nearly 1000 remain unsold. Production was planned for 16,000 and then cut to 10,000 and then a plant shutdown at 4300. The plant closed because there was no demand for the car. In July of this year ONLY 125 Volts were sold despite the government subsidy.

The second number you have right is the 'planned' production of 60,000 cars for next year. Producing 60,000 Volts with unlimited US Government subsidy. Selling will be another problem. Selling this number of cars will require a 4000% increase in monthly sales. Not likely to happen. Do you have any evidence that consumers will come in droves to the Volt when the Prius and Kia Hybrid offer more for less money?

[Guest]

Yes - the fact that over 300 of the dealers had NO Volts on their lot - ALL sold. Of the 300+ dealers that DID have Volts on the lot, they had one, at most two.

Of the "almost 1000 unsold", over 300 are used by GM for engineering evaluation (longer-term testing) and nearly 400 are "dealer demos" that are not supposed to be sold - their purpose is to let people see and drive the car. It'll be a while before those demos are sold.

Of COURSE July only sold 125 Volts since the plant went down in JUNE so there weren't any more in the pipeline!

[Guest]

Yes - the fact that over 300 of the dealers had NO Volts on their lot - ALL sold. Of the 300+ dealers that DID have Volts on the lot, they had one, at most two.

Of the "almost 1000 unsold", over 300 are used by GM for engineering evaluation (longer-term testing) and nearly 400 are "dealer demos" that are not supposed to be sold - their purpose is to let people see and drive the car. It'll be a while before those demos are sold.

Of COURSE July only sold 125 Volts since the plant went down in JUNE so there weren't any more in the pipeline!

I don't really care about this government car at all, except I don't like government interfering with the marketplace, which in my mind unfairly tilts the playing field.

I just wonder why you seem so invested in it.

[Guest]

Yes - the fact that over 300 of the dealers had NO Volts on their lot - ALL sold. Of the 300+ dealers that DID have Volts on the lot, they had one, at most two.

Of the "almost 1000 unsold", over 300 are used by GM for engineering evaluation (longer-term testing) and nearly 400 are "dealer demos" that are not supposed to be sold - their purpose is to let people see and drive the car. It'll be a while before those demos are sold.

Of COURSE July only sold 125 Volts since the plant went down in JUNE so there weren't any more in the pipeline!

Lexus has a hybrid that has fuel economy better than the Volt, 43 mpg vs 33 mpg and costs $10,000 less. Be honest - would you rather be driving a Lexus with Lexus service, luxury and reliability or a Chevrolet with a yet to be demonstrated reliability? On top of that it costs less and is projected to hold its value better. Tough choice?

[Guest]

I don't really care about this government car at all, except I don't like government interfering with the marketplace, which in my mind unfairly tilts the playing field.

I just wonder why you seem so invested in it.

Why? I'll tell you.

Right now, the most efficient form of ground transportation is "hybrid electric". An engine drives an electric generator which powers electric motors to drive the wheels. We call this form of transportation "railroads".

The problem with scaling that technology down has been the development of smaller motors, better batteries, generators, etc.

The Volt is a HUGE step forward towards a more energy-independant lifestyle. Think what happens if we get the gasoline engine currently in the car replaced with a diesel. It means we can run the car on biodiesel which can be derived from FAR more numerous sources.

Oh, and BBQMan, that 33mpg claim? It's actually 37 (35 city, 40 highway) when the battery is depleted. I'm sorry to sound a bit snarky but please get your facts straight. Now, depending on how much driving you do at once, you get 35-40 miles on the battery alone. In my commuting case (29 miles each way) I would only be burning gas for 20-25 miles of my commute - less than a gallon. So, for me, it would be more like getting over 60mpg.

And that Lexus? It has the problem my Camry has - really the only problem with my car that gives me irritation - is Toyota's rapacious maintenance network. I've never seen a worse batch of "pile on"-itis - trying to get me to pay over $2000 extra in uneeded repairs when I threw a belt (claiming I needed a new water pump, for instance). My independant mechanic did the job for a couple hundred and replaced what was broken - not what MIGHT have been affected if I drove the car until it boiled over.

I haven't had that experience at Chrysler or GM dealerships.