Join the new world

The survey itself may be found here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cFl2cW82TGxsaTBPYTE4N3hCVktvZmc6MA..

First, let me thank everyone who participated in the survey for doing so. Obviously, this project could not have been undertaken without your help.

Second, the survey will remain open for a while longer in case anyone else wants to take the survey who hasn't. If there are any major shifts in opinion (I will be tracking things), I will make an announcement.

eUS POLITICAL CLIMATE SURVEY FINDINGS
FINAL REPORT

Sample size: 100

Methods: I posted a link to the survey in the eUS forums, eRepublik forums, and the private party forums of the USWP, Federalist Party, AAP, and UIP. Conservative Party forums appeared to be inactive. A link was also posted in my newspaper, The Weekly Broad-Axe.

Note: The respondents to this survey, as indicated by the methods, were not a randomly selected sample. As such, do not treat this survey as a scientific poll. It is not meant as a substitute for wise decision-making on the part of our leaders or contact with the population at large, but rather as a general measure of sentiment.

RESULTS

Party Affiliation
* Libertarian Party: 11%
* UIP: 15%
* USWP: 13%
* Conservative Party: 11%
* AAP: 10%
* Other: 23%
* None: 17%

*Analysis: though the USWP seems to have a massive edge over other parties in terms of membership, its likely has approximately the same number of active members as most other major parties.
* In addition, a huge plurality -- 40% -- of eAmericans do not belong to any of the five major parties, demonstrating the pure insanity of the five-party election rule. The take away message for any national political candidate from this is likely the need to appeal to other parties and non-partisans. Non-top five parties, such as the Federalist Party, can possibly make a huge impact on election elections.

ISSUES

Government Approval
* A whopping 40% of eAmericans said that they "highly disapprove" of Uncle Sam's presidency, with another 22% saying that they "disapprove".
* Only 15% of eAmericans gave Uncle Sam a positive rating at all, and only 1% said they "highly approved".
* Meanwhile, 47% of eAmericans said they "strongly disapprove" of Congress, with another 28% saying that they "disapprove". All in all, nearly 3/4 of eAmericans disapprove of Congress.
* Only 2% of eAmericans said they "strongly approve" of the job Congress is doing, with 13% giving Congress a positive rating generally (including both "strongly approve" and "approve"
* 51% of eAmericans said that they would support impeachment of Uncle Sam.

* Analysis: though Uncle Sam is currently a wildly unpopular president, the Congress is equally unpopular, likely reflecting a general discontent with the government right now. Whether incumbent congressmen should feel uncomfortable right now is hard to say, however. In IRL politics, Congress consistently has a very low approval rating, and yet around 90% of congressmen are re-elected each election. As of now, I do not know if this rule carries over to eRepublik.

Foreign Policy
* A plurality of eAmericans (43😵 seem to support the Mexican War. Only 31% oppose it. A quarter (25😵 have neutral feelings about it.
* 50% of eAmericans want to remain members of ATLANTIS. 35% want to leave and start a third-way alliance. 14% want to leave and go it alone. 1% want to leave and join PEACE.
* eAmericans are strongly split on the issue of Uncle Sam's payment of UK ATLANTIS fines. Though 46% approve generally (25% strongly approve, 21% approve), 31% of eAmericans strongly disapprove, and another 12% disapprove -- making 43% disapproving overall.

* Analysis: despite all of the troubles had with the Mexican War, many eAmericans still seem to support it. And, while a large plurality of eAmericans seem to be happy with the status quo generally in terms of foreign affairs, there is an important minority that should not be ignored. The 43% who disapprove of Uncle Sam's payment of ATLANTIS fines, the 14% who want to leave ATLANTIS altogether, and the 31% opposing the Mexican war -- these numbers are all indicative of a strong isolationist streak in at least certain segments of the eAmerican population.

Domestic Policy
* 11% of eAmericans wanted to eliminate the VAT altogether. 41% wanted a VAT rate between 1-5%. 31% wanted a VAT rate between 6-10%. Only 17% wanted a VAT rate 11% or higher.
* 7% of eAmericans wanted to eliminate the income tax altogether. 21% wanted an income tax between 1-5%; 31% wanted an income tax between 6-10%; 30% wanted an income tax between 11-20%; 9% wanted a higher income tax rate.
* 9% of eAmericans wanted no import tax rate at all. Only 16% wanted an import tax rate between 1-10%; 32% wanted a tax rate between 11-20%; a whopping 42% wanted an even higher tax rate.
* 28% of eAmericans wanted government revenue to be drawn mostly from VATs. 39% wanted most government money to be drawn from income taxes. 32% wanted an equal division.
* 25% of eAmericans want a lower or non-existent minimum wage. An amazing 52% want it to remain the same. 23% think it should be higher.
* 56% of eAmericans support the government's use of nationalized industry. 33% oppose it. 12% feel neutral.

* Analysis: eAmericans, generally, seem to lean at least slightly to the left, supporting nationalized industry and being fairly supportive of redistributive taxation (supporting higher income taxes over higher VATs). Also, Americans seem to be very supportive of protective tariffs for industry. However, there is an important minority of libertarians who would get rid of the minimum wage if they could, among other things.

Presidential Polling
* scrabman (USWP) -- 21%
* PrincessMediPi (UIP) -- 19%
* John Jay (PAC) -- 14%
* Desertfalcon (Conservative) -- 10%
* Nonesuch (Illuminati) -- 7%
* Jamarcus (Green) -- 5%
* Nathan Woods (Dem. Left) -- 1%

* Don't know yet -- 17%
* Other -- 6%

* Analysis -- though it seems that the election has essentially come down to scrabman and PrincessMediPi, don't forget the 17% of voters who say that they "don't know yet". The undecideds will undoubtedly play a decisive role in the coming election. Given Desertfalcon's poor showing in this poll, as well as his poor showing in past elections, it's quite unlikely that he will win this time. John Jay also probably doesn't stand a chance, but if his AAP endorsement goes through, that might bump him up to real-contender status.

Other Voter Demographics
* 100% of respondents will be able to vote in this coming election.
* 95% of respondents were able to vote in the last election.