Polls and Surveys

"Life is but a game, they say. So play it all you will. Have another drink, my friend. But don't send me the bill." L Broughton

Tis an election year in New Zealand. By September at the latest, the country will go to the
polls. We'll wander along to the local school and put ticks in little boxes in the presumption
that our votes will change the world for the better. But alas. No matter whom we vote for,
the government always wins. The same type of person retains absolute power and nothing changes. After months of Hitler style propaganda, we breathe a sigh of relief and go back to sleep.

For the last six years NZ has been subject to the Labour Party Coalition prejudices. Labour was originally for the working man but now pretends to be right of left and left of right all at once and together. It's still a socialist movement that thinks it's mentally superior and runs a dictatorship justified by endless polls and surveys. Actually, much of the unnecessary social engineering legislation introduced is so left-wing, Lenin would have tugged his beard in frustration.

Which just goes to show that polls and surveys are simply highly organised methods to
enforce an opinion and then the politicians turn around and say, we're only doing what the
people want. Yeah Right. Bullshit is cheap today, cheaper then yesterday!

It's standard procedure for politicians to distance themselves from pollsters. What actually happens is this.

'Dear Mr Pollster, please run a survey in favour of our new anti smoking legislation. Don't
forget to include the smokers that agree with us. The check is in the post.'

The pollsters wink knowingly. Money is after all, money. They know that to get the desired
result, all they have to do is design the questions accordingly and poll the right people. The poll goes out to the Cancer Society and similar organisations. The man in the street is never given the opportunity to comment. Smokers being a minority, don't count. Majority rules in a democracy.

Naturally the result shows that 80% of those polled agree with the new law. The fact that
thousands are losing their jobs is irrelevant. It wasn't one of the questions asked. The
politicians sit back and rubbish those that point out that you are in more potential danger
driving in rush hour traffic than you will ever be from smoking.

This letter was published in my local newspaper.

Dear Sir. We all know the adage: there are lies, damn lies and statistics. Such wisdom has stood the test of time. The same criterion applies to polls and surveys. The subject matter doesn't matter. Political manipulation is achieved by asking the right questions of the right people. It's as simple as ABC. Recently I conducted a survey of 512 local people. I visited each personally and asked the following question. Allow an error rate of +/- 3.2%. Would you object if school children were given a million dollars a week pocket money? Not one person had a negative opinion. My local cemetery is lovely on a sunny day.

Democracy wins. Simple, isn't it?