Is Washington Listening to You?

Increasingly, voters feel the people who represent them in Washington are ignoring what truly motivates and frustrates them.  When Washington talks about the economy and jobs – the top concerns to voters for five years now – they talk about “job creators” and the unemployed.  But the vast majority of American households are headed by jobholders.

Working Americans worry about inflation more than immigration.  They are focused more on food and fuel costs than on fiscal cliffs.  They worry more about retiring in good shape, than about regulating guns.  You would not know that, however, in the parallel universe that is Washington.

One reason for the disconnect:  Politicians use polls and focus groups to help then win elections, but not to govern.  They listen most when they need votes; that is, roughly every two to four years.

The same week the president, in his State of the Union address, asked Congress to spend billions on climate change, transportation, the minimum wage, and more, a Fox News poll showed that 73 percent of Americans believe less government spending will help the economy grow.  Only 15 percent thought more government spending is the answer.

Congress meanwhile, drones on about drones.  It continuously issues continuing resolutions.  And the GOP absorbs all of the baggage of being viewed as the party of morality and values.  Yet a February 7-10 Gallup poll found that ethical and religious decline ranked higher as a top concern than many issues the Beltway favors, such as immigration, national security, Social Security, poverty, gay rights, and terrorism.

Education is another issue that seems conspicuous by its absence.  Some 53 percent of Americans told Gallup last year that they are dissatisfied with the quality of K-12 education.  According to the Board Education Foundation, 75 percent of students are not proficient in civics, 3 out of 4 eighth graders cannot write proficiently, and the dropout rate for African-America and Hispanic students is 40 percent.

That data point should raise the eyebrows of a Republican Party struggling to connect with minorities.  Not all the nation’s problems are economic.  What ails Americans cannot fit neatly into a sound bite or an executive order.

Congress has a 14 percent approval rating.  Some 62 million voters cast ballots against Obama last year.  These numbers are not just indictments of job performance.  They are an indication that ordinary folks are worried that no one is really listening to them anymore.