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Americans flunk civics test

Posted 25 Nov 2008 in economy, education, memes, stupidity, taxes, wise quotes

I find this extremely disturbing. No wonder Obama got elected! (h/t: Writemarsh)

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

“It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI’s civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned,” said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

“How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don’t understand the American experience?” he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

The results of this test really lend creedence to the saying by Alexis de Tocqueville: “In a Democracy, the people get the government they deserve.”

You can take the same civics test here to test your knowledge.

My 9th grade civics teacher would be proud of me; I scored 96.97%, getting 32 out of 33 correct. That’s WAY better than I did in his class! The question that tripped me up was #30:

Which of the following fiscal policy combinations would a government most likely follow to stimulate economic activity when the economy is in a severe recession?
A. increasing both taxes and spending
B. increasing taxes and decreasing spending
C. decreasing taxes and increasing spending
D. decreasing both taxes and spending

It figures I’d miss that one!

Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT

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