How American citizens might write a State of the Union Address
The media and Washington politicians typically ignore or misrepresent the public views on many matters. These recent polls suggest what a citizen-written State of the Union address might include
- Civil liberties and justice
- 57% of Americans consider Sowden a whistleblower, not a traitor
- 71% oppose mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses
- 70% of Dems and 77% of Republicans say NSA surveillance intrudes on privacy rights
- Most feel First Amendment doesn’t go far enough
- Corporations
- Eight in ten Americans oppose the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United
- Drugs
- 51-55% support pot legalization
- 82% Say U.S. Not Winning War on Drugs
- Ecology
- 93% of Americans want GMO foods labelled
- Americans strongly believe climate change is occurring, and we’re the main cause
- 70% say global warming should be a priority for the nation’s leaders
- Americans want higher emissions standards
- Americans want stronger environmental regulations
- Economy
- 80% support increase in minimum wage
- 55% favor extension of unemployment benefits
- 59% say wealth should be more fairly distributed
- Overwhelming support for federal spending to help economy
- 64 percent believe job creation should be the top priority. Only 33 percent said deficit reduction
- 55% want too big to fail banks to fail
- Believe economy unfair to middle class
- Support food stamps
- Education
- 53% think school shouldn’t open until after Labor Day
- 22% believe increased testing has helped the performance of local public schools.
- 58% reject using student test scores to evaluate teachers.
- 81% want government to invest more in higher education
- Sixty-one percent of parents said they were opposed to closing low-performing schools and reassigning students to a different school…
- More than three out of every four parents said they were opposed to reducing compensation for teachers or cutting resources for the classroom while increasing spending on charter schools.
- 58 percent said they did not approve of officials lengthening the school day,
- 56 percent are opposed to giving tax dollars to families to pay for private school tuition
- A majority of parents surveyed said that too much learning in the classroom has been sacrificed in order to accommodate state tests during the school year. A majority of parents reported that their children have been anxious about those tests.
Foreign
- 60% support six month Iran agreement
- Only 17% still support Afghan war
- 51% Want All U.S. Troops Out of Afghanistan Next Year
Gays
- Healthcare
- Believe we shouldn’t cap Medicare
- Immigration
- 63 percent – crossing party and religious lines – favor legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the United States
- NSA
- Politics
- Would ban Super PACS
- Social Security
- 87% of Americans want Social Security spending increased or held steady
- Oppose cutting SS annual increase
- War
- Believe it’s OK to cut defense spending
- Say Libya action wasn’t right
Washington
- 81% disapprove of the job that Congress is doing
See also
We Stand With The Majority Of Americans
The American People Could Rule Better than the Political and Economic Elites