The Problem With Polls
June 22, 20093:43 pm
Those who advocate government-run healthcare have seized upon a New York Times/CBS News poll published yesterday that shows 72 percent of Americans support the idea of a government health plan competing with private insurers.
I can understand advocates cheering this survey without question, but I’m a little disappointed in many of the news stories and journalists’ blogs I’ve seen that cite the NYT/CBS data without putting it in perspective or asking questions about its actual significance.
Here are some questions that should be raised when looking at these poll numbers:
• Are people saying “yes” to more choices without being asked to consider the possible ramifications? Let’s be honest. Most Americans have not spent a great deal of time dwelling on the pros and cons of the government health plan debate. The Times is essentially asking people a simple question – do you want more choices? There’s no obvious downside to answering “yes.”
But would the answer still be “yes” if people knew there was a danger of the government health plan driving insurers out of the market and reducing the number of available coverage choices? Or if they knew of the potential danger to hospitals, because of an increased reliance on government payments that do not equal the actual cost of care? The NYT/CBS survey doesn’t delve into these questions. Rather, they ask a choice-without-consequences question for which an overwhelmingly positive response was quite predictable.
• The NYT/CBS poll clashes with a recent Rasmussen survey showing the public evenly divided, 41 percent apiece, for and against the government health plan concept. I wish more news reports had looked into why there is such a significant difference between the two polls.
• Looking into the poll methodology tells us that the NYT/CBS survey oversampled people who voted for Barack Obama instead of John McCain in the 2008 elections. Now, for the sake of accuracy, pollsters should seek more Obama voters as respondents. But the Times polled Obama supporters by an almost two-to-one margin even though the election had Obama winning 53%-46%. One might surmise this would have an impact on survey findings.
• The NYT/CBS survey has some interesting contradictions. The survey shows that 77 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their own healthcare, and 63 percent say they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned that more government involvement will make their healthcare worse. This underscores why there should have been more follow-up questions on the government health plan issue. Are Americans willing to risk a negative impact on their own healthcare just to have a government-run health plan in the marketplace?
What really concerns me about this survey is that many Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are working tirelessly and in good faith to craft a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform that will get more people covered, improve quality and control costs. Glancing at the blogosphere yesterday, I’m seeing this poll used as a weapon to push Democrats to abandon bipartisanship and push through a controversial approach that may not have the strong public support that the New York Times leads us to believe.
CATEGORIES: 
72 Responses to “The Problem With Polls”
January 28th, 2024 at 1:25 pm
ventolin inhalator online buy ventolin inhalator generic buy ventolin online
January 29th, 2024 at 5:21 pm
tizanidine 2mg pill where can i buy tizanidine how to get zanaflex without a prescription
January 31st, 2024 at 7:44 am
order prednisone 5mg pills buy prednisone without a prescription generic deltasone 20mg
February 1st, 2024 at 11:41 pm
oral accutane accutane 40mg cost where to buy accutane without a prescription
February 3rd, 2024 at 6:47 am
generic albuterol order ventolin 2mg pill buy albuterol 2mg sale
February 3rd, 2024 at 1:27 pm
amoxil generic buy amoxil online order amoxicillin pills
February 5th, 2024 at 12:35 am
augmentin 625mg generic augmentin 1000mg over the counter order augmentin 625mg for sale
February 5th, 2024 at 7:20 am
generic azithromycin 250mg buy zithromax 250mg for sale purchase zithromax generic
February 6th, 2024 at 4:21 pm
synthroid 75mcg price cheap levothyroxine sale levoxyl pill
February 6th, 2024 at 10:42 pm
buy omnacortil 10mg pill buy omnacortil generic buy generic prednisolone 20mg
February 8th, 2024 at 9:11 am
brand serophene order serophene sale order clomid online cheap
February 8th, 2024 at 3:00 pm
order gabapentin 600mg neurontin oral gabapentin 800mg without prescription
February 10th, 2024 at 5:25 am
order lasix generic purchase furosemide generic lasix 100mg brand
February 10th, 2024 at 3:58 pm
order viagra online cheap viagra overnight sildenafil next day delivery
February 11th, 2024 at 8:23 pm
buy doxycycline 200mg pill vibra-tabs pills order doxycycline online
February 12th, 2024 at 6:56 am
order semaglutide sale rybelsus 14mg pill cost semaglutide 14mg
February 13th, 2024 at 6:39 am
real casino slot machine games online blackjack for real money poker sites
February 15th, 2024 at 9:23 pm
buy triamcinolone sale buy generic aristocort aristocort for sale online
February 16th, 2024 at 1:54 pm
cialis 10mg cost tadalafil cialis 10mg for sale
February 17th, 2024 at 3:57 am
buy clarinex 5mg for sale desloratadine 5mg drug brand desloratadine
February 17th, 2024 at 9:57 pm
order cenforce 50mg generic buy cenforce for sale order cenforce 100mg for sale
February 18th, 2024 at 9:35 am
order claritin online cheap buy loratadine pill buy claritin online
February 19th, 2024 at 5:57 am
purchase chloroquine pill aralen where to buy order aralen 250mg
February 20th, 2024 at 12:40 am
order priligy 60mg buy misoprostol 200mcg pill oral misoprostol 200mcg
February 20th, 2024 at 2:23 pm
glycomet 1000mg us order glycomet online cheap glucophage generic
February 21st, 2024 at 8:30 am
buy generic xenical for sale order diltiazem pill generic diltiazem 180mg
February 22nd, 2024 at 6:20 am
order atorvastatin 10mg generic where can i buy lipitor order generic lipitor 40mg
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:54 pm
buy acyclovir without prescription buy acyclovir 800mg pill order zyloprim generic
February 23rd, 2024 at 6:07 am
order amlodipine 5mg norvasc price order norvasc pill
February 24th, 2024 at 2:07 pm
buy zestril generic zestril where to buy brand lisinopril 5mg
February 24th, 2024 at 3:21 pm
order generic rosuvastatin 10mg ezetimibe brand zetia 10mg tablet
February 25th, 2024 at 9:47 pm
order motilium without prescription purchase tetracycline pill order sumycin pills
February 25th, 2024 at 10:44 pm
order prilosec 10mg generic order omeprazole generic buy omeprazole 20mg online
February 27th, 2024 at 5:33 am
buy metoprolol 100mg generic lopressor pills metoprolol 100mg drug
February 27th, 2024 at 5:45 am
buy flexeril 15mg generic buy generic baclofen brand lioresal
February 28th, 2024 at 1:51 pm
buy ketorolac online cheap order colcrys pills buy generic colchicine for sale
February 28th, 2024 at 4:46 pm
tenormin medication generic tenormin 100mg tenormin pills
March 1st, 2024 at 2:19 am
order medrol sale methylprednisolone 16mg for sale buy methylprednisolone sale
March 2nd, 2024 at 6:47 am
order inderal 10mg sale brand plavix 150mg buy plavix 150mg generic
March 2nd, 2024 at 9:38 am
buy essay online uk academic writing blog cheap term papers
March 3rd, 2024 at 10:17 am
purchase methotrexate pills generic methotrexate 10mg buy warfarin paypal
March 4th, 2024 at 6:27 am
generic mobic celecoxib buy online buy generic celebrex online
March 4th, 2024 at 2:05 pm
buy reglan 10mg pill buy generic cozaar order generic cozaar
March 5th, 2024 at 5:16 pm
nexium capsules topamax tablet buy topamax for sale
March 5th, 2024 at 5:58 pm
tamsulosin pill tamsulosin over the counter celebrex pill
March 8th, 2024 at 2:14 pm
buy ondansetron cheap order aldactone 25mg buy spironolactone sale
March 8th, 2024 at 9:43 pm
sumatriptan sale buy levaquin 500mg pill brand levaquin 500mg
March 10th, 2024 at 1:13 am
avodart 0.5mg brand buy generic avodart for sale order zantac 150mg without prescription
March 11th, 2024 at 7:14 pm
acillin without prescription buy generic ampicillin oral amoxil
March 12th, 2024 at 12:04 pm
proscar 1mg oral purchase propecia generic buy fluconazole 200mg pills
March 14th, 2024 at 7:29 am
purchase ciprofloxacin sale – purchase keflex pill clavulanate price
March 14th, 2024 at 5:27 pm
buy cipro 500mg pill – cephalexin order online augmentin 375mg sale
March 17th, 2024 at 3:19 am
buy metronidazole 400mg generic – buy flagyl for sale zithromax 250mg generic
March 18th, 2024 at 1:15 am
purchase ciplox – buy erythromycin 250mg pill order erythromycin sale
March 19th, 2024 at 8:10 am
order valacyclovir 1000mg for sale – diltiazem online buy cost zovirax 800mg
March 20th, 2024 at 4:41 am
ivermectin tablet – buy sumycin 250mg generic buy tetracycline 250mg online cheap
March 21st, 2024 at 10:19 am
flagyl 400mg pills – oxytetracycline 250mg capsules zithromax buy online
March 22nd, 2024 at 7:40 am
buy cheap acillin amoxicillin pills buy cheap generic amoxil
March 23rd, 2024 at 1:09 am
purchase furosemide sale – purchase warfarin generic order captopril 25mg pills
March 26th, 2024 at 12:34 am
glucophage 1000mg price – buy generic baycip online lincomycin price
March 26th, 2024 at 7:05 am
retrovir for sale – zyloprim 300mg brand order allopurinol 100mg for sale
March 28th, 2024 at 9:55 am
buy clozaril tablets – buy amaryl generic cheap pepcid 20mg
March 29th, 2024 at 7:46 am
purchase seroquel generic – buy sertraline 100mg without prescription eskalith drug
March 31st, 2024 at 4:39 am
buy generic anafranil – paxil where to buy buy doxepin medication
March 31st, 2024 at 6:59 am
hydroxyzine 25mg ca – order pamelor for sale buy endep 25mg sale
April 3rd, 2024 at 9:43 pm
cheap amoxicillin online – buy generic cephalexin over the counter baycip online
April 4th, 2024 at 6:39 am
order augmentin 375mg without prescription – buy baycip without a prescription cipro canada
April 9th, 2024 at 6:52 am
cleocin cheap – purchase suprax pill buy generic chloromycetin over the counter
April 12th, 2024 at 9:57 pm
albuterol over the counter – purchase theophylline generic theophylline where to buy
April 12th, 2024 at 11:01 pm
india ivermectin – buy generic cefaclor 250mg buy cefaclor 250mg pill
April 15th, 2024 at 7:20 am
clarinex usa – albuterol 2mg without prescription albuterol 4mg canada
April 19th, 2024 at 7:46 am
purchase prandin without prescription – jardiance 25mg ca order generic empagliflozin
Leave a Reply