3 ms·

I think this is a very misleading headline. 49 percent support the high speed rail project in this poll, based on a neutrally worded question. The 31% figure co

I think this is a very misleading headline. 49 percent support the high speed rail project in this poll, based on a neutrally worded question. The 31% figure comes from a leading question that starts with "The latest estimates for California’s high-speed rail project are that it will cost up to $77 billion dollars and will be finished in 2033. This estimate is nearly twice as much as the original estimated cost." The full survey is here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5uibGxcEuknURkZZvT4Ah4Q9-IvalVz/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5uibGxcEuknURkZZvT4Ah4Q9-I...

merpnderp 8y ago
So leading questions are questions that supply two pertinent facts and a third pertinent if leading fact? Everyone wants a rail system to quickly take them where they need to go. Not everyone is willing to pay that much money, wait that long, or accept mind boggling mismanagement. For example which question would result in more accurate responses: do you want lower taxes vs. do you want lower taxes if it cuts state budgets by 10%?
casefields 8y ago
Totally misleading to be up front about expanding costs. No one has to right to know what the taxpayer could be on the hook for...
- IshKebab 8y ago
  It's a classic loaded question technique. Emphasise the bad things before asking the question. This is pretty obvious. Do you think they would have got the same result if it was worded "A high speed train will reduce journey times by X%, reduce congestion by Y% on the roads and reduce CO2 pollution by Z%. Do you think we should build one?"
AnimalMuppet 8y ago
For any given X, there are more people who want the government to do X than there are people who want to pay for the government to do X. But since it's government, we're going to pay for it. It's a bit leading, but not heavily. To be non-leading, it should also say that the high speed rail will take you from SF to LA in Y minutes, and tickets will cost $Z. Then it's non-leading; it's merely supplying additional information that not all poll respondents may know. But it's not all that leading of a question. The cost and completion date, while they reflect badly on the project, are not irrelevant to peoples' opinion of it...

merpnderp 8y ago

So leading questions are questions that supply two pertinent facts and a third pertinent if leading fact? Everyone wants a rail system to quickly take them where they need to go. Not everyone is willing to pay that much money, wait that long, or accept mind boggling mismanagement. For example which question would result in more accurate responses: do you want lower taxes vs. do you want lower taxes if it cuts state budgets by 10%?

casefields 8y ago

Totally misleading to be up front about expanding costs. No one has to right to know what the taxpayer could be on the hook for...

IshKebab 8y ago
It's a classic loaded question technique. Emphasise the bad things before asking the question. This is pretty obvious. Do you think they would have got the same result if it was worded "A high speed train will reduce journey times by X%, reduce congestion by Y% on the roads and reduce CO2 pollution by Z%. Do you think we should build one?"

AnimalMuppet 8y ago

For any given X, there are more people who want the government to do X than there are people who want to pay for the government to do X. But since it's government, we're going to pay for it. It's a bit leading, but not heavily. To be non-leading, it should also say that the high speed rail will take you from SF to LA in Y minutes, and tickets will cost $Z. Then it's non-leading; it's merely supplying additional information that not all poll respondents may know. But it's not all that leading of a question. The cost and completion date, while they reflect badly on the project, are not irrelevant to peoples' opinion of it...