And it has been before. Plenty of times.
Used car salesmen take a lot of abuse. They are the go-to profession when Americans think of dishonest, unethical sales practices. Now, they are just trying to make a buck like many other normal people such as oil and gas drillers, hedge fund managers, cable TV customer service reps and Washington lobbyists, just to name a random sample. But the used car guys are generally regarded as the worst of the bunch, which suggests that given the competition, they must have some very special talents.
So it was considered quite an insult today when the Gallup Organization released the results of its latest poll on perceptions of integrity and ethical behavior. The pre-owned vehicle industry professionals came in last out of 22 careers cited.
But to absolutely no one's surprise - since they couldnt be worst - members of the US Congress came in second to last.
There were lots of snide comments about this, many people wondering how Congress managed not to come in dead last. And the truth is, this was quite an uptick for Congress. If their PR flacks - another perennial survey honoree - were doing their job properly, they would have punched out a release highlighting the good news: fully 10% of Americans surveyed - that's out of 100%, if you're keeping score at home - believe that members of Congress are honest and ethical.
But hey! That's up from 7% last year. And even better, back in 2009, Congress actually did rank below the used car guys.
So things are looking up for your elected representative, assuming he or she managed to keep their job this campaign cycle. With a growth rate of 3% in perceptions of their willingness - or innate ability - to do the right thing, Congress is worthy of Alan Greenspan-like growth potential.
If we can just keep the indictments at a manageable level... JL
Catalina Camia reports in USA Today:
When it comes to the honesty of Congress, Americans believe their lawmakers in Washington are only slightly more truthful than car salesmen. A Gallup Poll released Monday shows only 10% of Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of Congress as "very high" or "high" -- the second-lowest of 22 different professions. Americans place car salesmen at the bottom of the pack, with only 8% giving them high marks.
Congress consistently rates low in the minds of Americans and this year -- after nasty elections and amid partisan sniping over the budget -- is no different. Gallup says the high point for members of Congress came in November 2001, a couple of months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when 25% of Americans rated the honesty and ethical standards of their lawmakers as very high or high.
The lowest: Last year Congress got a 7% honesty rating.
Senators and governors do better. The Gallup survey found that 14% of Americans said senators rate very high or high when it comes to honesty and ethical standards, while 2 in 10 Americans say the same for governors.
So which profession rates highest among Americans? Gallup says 85% of Americans give the highest marks for honesty and ethical standards to nurses, followed by 75% who say the same for pharmacists.
In case you were wondering: Americans don't exactly feel warm and fuzzy toward journalists. Just 24% of people say the honesty and ethical standards of these scribes are "very high" or "high."
President Obama and Congress are trying to work out a deal to avoid going over a "fiscal cliff" at the end of the year, when Bush-era tax cuts expire and across-the-board spending cuts that will deeply impact the Pentagon and other programs are set to take effect.
Things are at a stalemate right now. House Speaker John Boehner said on Fox News Sunday that "we're nowhere," as he criticized a White House deal that includes increasing taxes for those individuals making over $250,000 a year plus some additional stimulus spending and cuts to Medicare.
The Gallup Poll of 1,015 adults was taken Nov. 26-29 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
0 comments:
Post a Comment