The Way Ahead

According to the results of a Zogby poll released today, most Americans believe that the way ahead for our economy lies through small business, science, and technology:

MIAMI – Most Americans are putting their faith in small business owners, entrepreneurs, and science and technology leaders to lead the U.S. to a better future – and they are significantly less hopeful the news media, government or large corporations will do the same, a new We Media/Zogby Interactive poll shows.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) said small business and entrepreneurs will lead the U.S. to a better future, while 52% said the same of science and technology leaders. Americans are far less optimistic about the leadership of government (31%), large corporations and business leaders (21%), or traditional news media such as newspapers, television, radio, and magazines (13%). Americans think leadership toward a better future is more likely to come from family and friends (38%), non-profit groups (32%), or even themselves (36%).

and

Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the leadership currently provided by large companies, government and traditional media – and they are not confident the leadership from these groups will improve in the future. The survey shows 71% are “not very” or “not at all” satisfied with the leadership provided by traditional news media. Even greater numbers of Americans are unsatisfied with the leadership of the government (74%) and large corporations and business leaders (81%).

While just one in four (27%) Americans are satisfied with the leadership provided by traditional news media, Internet media – including blogs and social networks – fared far better, with 56% satisfied with online media leadership. Fewer than a third of Americans (32%) believe online media will provide leadership in the future, but they are much more confident in the potential of Internet media to guide the U.S. in a better direction than they are in traditional news media (13%).

That sounds to me as though it’s completely consistent with the polling on the stimulus package we’ve seen. Mark my words: the stimulus package will subsidize those in whom the American people have the least trust (big business, government) at the expense of those in whom it has more trust (small businesses, science, tech).

And it also underscores the point I made on education: people have been making their choices based on the conditions they see around them and their choices have been rational when those circumstances are taken into consideration. Different circumstances, different decisions.

4 comments… add one
  • HI Dave — sorry, this is OT — but I are you the Dave S. who posted on Dean Esmay’s blog about your grandfather commenting in his diaries about Hitler in ’38-’39? I’m a documentary producer in NYC, working on a 4 hour television special about the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. We’re collecting contemporaneous diaries, letters and journals from that time, so I’d be very interested to learn more about your grandfather’s diaries — please contact me!

  • Tom Strong Link

    As a liberal in that 63%, I completely agree. The world of entrepreneurship has clearly shown itself in the last decade to be the best route for solving our most urgent problems. And right now I’m worried that movement is going to shoot itself in the foot by turning a blind eye to increased subsidization and the problems that will create.

  • Andy Link

    Maybe the focus on big business and government is why there isn’t much serious discussion about temporarily ending the FICA tax for employers and employees. That measure would be both a huge stimulus and benefit jobs by reducing the cost of employment.

  • Drew Link

    “Mark my words: the stimulus package will subsidize those in whom the American people have the least trust (big business, government) at the expense of those in whom it has more trust (small businesses, science, tech).”

    Duly marked, and unfortunately expected to be true upon review down the road.

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