The People Voted for Change and Now it’s Here

As a democratic society, the people choose and have a say in the way the system is being run. To get a general idea of what the people like or don’t like is often conducted through surveys or polls. Pollster.com has posted a poll with responses from different news outlets entitled, Health Care Plan: Favor / Oppose.

The poll results were organized in a scatter plot with correlation lines. The opposing trend was coded red and the favoring trend was coded black. This particular poll was conducted during the formation through to the debate of the health care plan in January of 2009 until March of 2010. The plot effectively showed particular news outlets and the amount of respondent in each field:

• Favor
• Oppose
• Undecided
• No opinion

With dots scattered throughout the plot, many of which over lapped or were close together made reading each news outlet’s response tedious. Also, the plot was limited to only those selected news outlets and not every possible outlet. The average correlation lines presented were hard to follow with the trend of the dots because the dots seemed to be scattered all around each other. Misleading as well was the number of individuals in a certain company who participated in the poll. Each population differed.

There was a chart though that helped organize the data which aided in understanding the points on the graph. The results of the data showed that an average 50.4% opposed while 42.1% favored the health care plan. This result shown with the scatter plot proved a nearly balanced correlation between the two variables meaning that people were not completely against the plan yet they weren’t completely for it either.

For those who favored the plan, approximately 30 million people who lack coverage will be provided coverage according to a health care reform article in The New York Times. News outlets are expected to be more knowledgeable about the health care debate considering that they cover it in varying degrees so this graph effectively gave its viewers a sense of where their news sources stand. It provided some reassurance that the plan was good. It also pointed to the fact that there were flaws with the plan but no specifics were pointed out for either one. Thus, the scattered plot proves to be the best way to see the association between variables that are large as for the health care debate.

Young adults overwhelming supporter of new bill

A recent poll conducted by the national power Gallup Consulting shows that although most adults support the new health care bill passed by Congress, the overwhelming supporter of this bill are middle aged individuals (Ages 18-34). This age group goes hand in hand with the income group that also most supports this bill (Less than $24,000). A few reasons for this

• This age group is least likely to have health insurance due to the lack of available jobs.
• With the low income, households are less likely to be able to afford insurance.

The most important part of this poll is how Gallup conducts it. Not only is it categorized by age group, the amount of household income also plays a vital roll in recognizing the type of people that are in favor of this and how it could be used going forward.

• Older individuals not favoring this makes sense due to them having their insurance already cared for.
  
• This type of split in age and income allows for future research with these same individuals later on as the bill moves forward.

There is one reason why I believe that this poll could be deemed un-useful. Gallup polls the people that already have no healthcare coverage. This bill is obviously going to be beneficial for them so saying they are in favor is only common sense.

The health care debate is a big topic around the country right now. And having graphics like these allows other individuals to view peoples opinions other than their own.

HIGHER COST FOR A SHORTER LIFE

Health care in the U.S. has become quite a hot issue these days. It's being argued that citizens should be required to purchase health insurance or face penalties if they refuse. An article in National Geographic explains that the issue may not be health care or no health care, but rather, is United States health care even effective?


The above graph (click to enlarge), which accompanies the article, compares:

• Average Health care spending per person
• Average Life expectancy at birth
• Average Doctor Visits per year
  

The graph clearly shows that there is no correlation between higher spending and longer life. This point is underlined by looking at the United States on the graph. Fourteen other countries boast a higher life expectancy than the U.S., and the cost per person is more than half the amount.

This is the point the article is trying to get across. The graph compliments that point very well as clearly shows the discrepancies between spending and life expectancy. It's very effective because at first glance the graph does its job. The United States is so far at the top that it's not even on the graph anymore. This really helps to reinforce the point that U.S. citizens aren't getting enough bang for their buck.

This is an eye-opening graph. It does not hinder from the article, rather it strengthens it, showing that whether or not health care in the U.S. will be mandatory, its effectiveness should be examined.

More information on U.S. health care can be found here.

Colbert Demonstrates Misuse of Polling in American Media

The Colbert Repoll (9:08)

Statistics and graphs are a staple in today's media, especially in the political arena. Stephen Colbert, anchor of Comedy Central's satirical news program The Colbert Report, recently conducted "The Colbert Repoll" which asked the "Colbert Nation" certain political questions. This poll is effective visually because it is clearly written and easy to understand.

Obviously, the poll above is not a scientific one. It is meant to mock the misuse of polls in American media. Scientific polls are generally meant to:

- Demonstrate the mood of a state or country.
- Allow citizens to participate in a democracy.
- Give politicians an idea of what their constituents are looking for.

However, polls are often used as talking points for campaigning politicians, lobbyists, and pundits. Furthermore, polling is not always accurate and most times the questions are extremely general. That is the point Colbert makes with his poll. By putting the actual legislative process of reconciliation, it forces a voter to have an understanding of the process in able to vote intelligently.

On the other hand, many polls phrase their questions like: "Do you support health care?" This type of gross generalization makes polling arbitrary. It impedes their legitimacy by making complicated issues into categorical alternatives.

The media also plays an extremely large role in statistical data. The media's relationship to polling is such that an outlet with some bias (which most have) are going to use the polls which are more favorable to their political standards. Thus, interpreting polls for the public, regurgitating their version back to us, and ultimately facilitating a less informed citizenship. In this manner, polling has actually become counterproductive in terms of a functional democracy.