How Dumb Do They Think We Are?

I see this question asked frequently enough, by pundits I generally respect, but every time I thing to myself; "Look at the people we have elected, and tell me how dumb you think we are."

Thanks to Tam for the pointer to this article by Mark Steyn, one of the pundits I think rather highly of. I don't think I'd call it a quote of the day, since it is simply a summary of a poll, but knowing that a significant number of our fellow voters think this, goes a long way toward explaining the election results.

According to a Fox News poll earlier this year, 65 per cent of Americans understand that the government gets its money from taxpayers, but 24 per cent think the government has “plenty of its own money without using taxpayer dollars.”

This is the sort of thing that should be pounded into the little heads in middle school civics class with the kind of certitude usually reserved for things like the direction in which the sun rises in the morning. It represents nothing less than a fundamental failure of the education system, and makes the case for the Dept of Education to be reduced to a rather modest sized committee to write a set of competence tests for the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades. Failure to get an acceptable score means you get to repeat the previous grade, or don't get your diploma.

Better yet, let's put your final score on your diploma. Think of it as the executive summary of your transcript.

When I am dictator, you will need a "C" or better to be allowed to vote.