New Poll

Updates

November 20, 2012: I haven't checked the poll results so far; I generally don't look at the results until I'm ready to post a new poll which could be weeks from now.

I will probably irritate a lot of my readers, but I really don't have problems with the president's desire to increase taxes on the top 2%, i.e., roll back the Bush tax cuts. That's fine with me. And that's why I posted this particular poll.

I truly am curious to see how the "average" viewer of this blog feels about increasing taxes on the top 2% of the American population. There is no hidden agenda in the poll. A week ago I did not know / or had forgotten that the top 2% of the American population might include North Dakota farmers, but when that was pointed out, that suggested a poll would be interesting.

And that's the problem with tax policy. I personally don't want to see North Dakota family farms broken up due to taxes but then do I advocate increasing taxes on the upper 2% but exclude farmers? What about mom-and-pop family farms vs big corporate farms? Do we exclude mom-and-pop businesses; if we do, how do we define mom-and-pop businesses? Publicly traded? Then we don't include Cargill? So, it gets very difficult very quickly.  

I don't have a dog in this fight: I am not part of any family farm; I won't be in the top 2% regardless of what they do with taxes; I won't even be affected by any changes in social security. I write a lot of political-oriented posts, but at the end of the day, I am simply a spectator at this point. When it comes to politics, I might as well be on the moon.

November 20, 2012: Ms Heitkamp won't be the only one with a tough decision. The Boston Globe has a similar story.  According to The Boston Globe, one-term Scott Walker has an opportunity to add to his legacy. His only lasting legacy: it was his vote that resulted in ObamaCare being passed.

Original Post

Time for a new poll.

First, the results of the most recent poll: Will the Keystone XL 2.0 be completed by end-2016?

• Yes: 38%
• No: 62%

Now, the new poll.

Background for the new poll can be found at this stand-alone post.

Even at the risk of breaking up family farms, should newly-elected Heidi Heitkamp support her party's president and raise the estate tax to help avert the fiscal cliff? (It's possible the current Congress will decide the issue before Ms Heitkamp and the new Congress is sworn in next January, 20. If so, Ms Heitkamp still has the opportunity to speak out on this issue.)