Polls: JWS Research, SEC Newgate and more (open thread)

Generally positive perceptions of the federal government combine with mounting concerns about the economy in two new attitudinal polls.

Three slabs of minor polling news in lieu of what I’d consider a proper federal opinion poll:

• The quarterly JWS Research True Issues survey of issue salience finds concerns about the cost of living have shot up since March, with 38% choosing it as one of the three issues the federal government should be most focused on, up from 16%. This pushes hospitals, health care and ageing to second place, down from 37% to 34%. Twenty per cent think the national economy headed in the right direction, down eight points since March, compared with 33% for wrong direction, up three, maintaining a downward trend going back to early last year. The new federal government scores 54% on an index score for its general performance, meaning it scored very slightly above par overall on a measure where respondents were asked to rank it on a five-point scale, which compares with 47% for the previous government in March. The survey was conducted August 12 to 15 from a sample of 1000.

• SEC Newgate’s monthly Mood of the Nation attitudinal polling, conducted from a sample of 1800, finds 47% consider the federal government is doing a good to excellent job, up eight points since June. Fifty-seven per cent expressed support for an indigenous voice to parliament, down one on May, with opposition at 19%, up three. There was a ten-point increase in positivity towards “Australia transitioning its electricity generation to renewables” since June, now at 70%, with 12% negatively disposed, down seven.

• Roy Morgan’s weekly update video informs us that its polling conducted from August 22 to 28 had Labor’s lead at 52-48, in from 53-47 a week earlier and a good deal narrower than recent results from Newspoll and Resolve Strategic. Primary votes are Labor 36% (down one-and-a-half), Coalition 39.5% (up one), Greens 10.5% (down one) and One Nation 4% (up one-and-a-half).

The Age/Herald has also trickled out the further results from last week’s Resolve Strategic poll:

• The government’s legislated target of a 43% reduction in carbon emissions was supported by 62%, including 27% who strongly supported it, and opposed by 19%, including 10% who were strongly opposed.

• The 500 New South Wales respondents from the poll included 56% who reckoned John Barilaro’s trade commissioner appointment a case of “jobs for the boys”, compared with only 14% for the alternative option that he was a worthy candidate in a fair process, and 45% who felt Dominic Perrottet had handled the matter badly compared with 27% who thought he had handled it well.

• The 500 Victorian respondents included 42% who credited state Labor with greater integrity and honesty compared with 21% for the Coalition, and 53% who expected Labor to win the election compared with 18% for the Coalition.

• Only 7% expect COVID-19 numbers to increase in the coming months, down from 20% in March; 33% expect roughly the same numbers “perhaps for months/years”, down six from March; and 42% expect numbers to decrease, up from 28%, which includes 25% who thought they would later come back again, up from 18%.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

1,672 comments on “Polls: JWS Research, SEC Newgate and more (open thread)”

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  2. c@t, the intensity I see is borne of the seriousness with which they take themselves. To me it’s the difference between playing the game and watching. They really feel they are saving the planet from itself. The flip side is how Americans tend to see relaxed lucky Aussies. (one opinion)

  3. Hurley should not be handing out gongs; he should in lieu be tendering his resignation.

    ______________________________________

    Re. Upnorth’s comment about publicans, times have changed. The first corpse I ever saw was a publican, who at around 50 had a fatal heart attack. He lived next door to us. I was around 10. I was directed by my parents to stay inside but didn’t. In the ’50s, unless you were well off, most in the regions had an outside dunny. Unfortunately for poor Ole “Oz Henry”, he collapsed against the dunny door, which had to be dismantled to extract his body. Apparently, death on the loo is not uncommon, resulting from a ‘drop in blood pressure due to the parasympathetic nervous system during bowel movements. This effect may be magnified by existing circulatory issues.’

  4. [‘Whilst prime minister Anthony Albanese has downplayed the role of Scott Morrison-appointed Australian governor general David Hurley’s role in the multiple ministries saga, there are clear signs that the part played by “Her Majesty’s representative in the Commonwealth” was problematic.

    As the recently released documents relating to the appointments reveal, Morrison was appointed as dual administrator of the finance portfolio on 30 March 2020, yet there is no mention of this in the Governor General’s Program, as is normally the case when a minister is sworn in.’]

    https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-office-of-the-governor-general-is-no-longer-tenable/

  8. davosays:
    Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 4:20 pm
    Every year come Melbourne cup. I’ve also been thinking the same “horsies running around in a circle” what a f@#$ing bore-fest.
    ————————————-
    Actually serious punters don’t get involved in the Melbourne Cup.
    And what are your hobbies davo?

  9. The Victorians Party. A lesson in BS.

    This was then according to an excited HSun…

    A new political party is set to shake up the 2022 state election with plans to contest every Victorian seat next year.

    Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang, Moreland councillor Oscar Yildiz, former footy champ Paul ­Dimattina and businesswoman Ingrid Maynard are behind the Victorians Party, which launches on Friday, a year out from the ­election.

    Recent polling has pointed to increased support for minor parties and independents, and the new political outfit is hoping to steal seats from both Labor and the Liberals.

    Mr Lang said more than 15,000 people, who felt they were being ignored by the current political system, had flagged interest in supporting a new party….

    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/new-political-party-to-challenge-labor-and-coalition-in-2022-victorian-election/news-story/3d0bd6960440631ad571a66826c86e9b?amp#

    This is now…

    Victoria’s election watchdog has been asked to investigate a failed political party after it abruptly withdrew from the state election.

    The Victorians Party had intended to run for every seat in the state and had named about a dozen candidates when it announced its abrupt exit earlier this month.

    Final background checks on all candidates were being completed and promotional campaign material was being finalised at the time.

    Now the Sunday Herald Sun can reveal a complaint over donations to the party has been lodged with the Victorian Electoral Commission.

    It comes as a bitter feud has broken out between emerging factions of the party – those who insist it is unviable and those who wish to see it field candidates at November’s election….

    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-electoral-commission-to-probe-victorians-party-donations-complaint/news-story/a5b002252d72a7622891fb4caab30ee1

  10. It comes as a bitter feud has broken out between emerging factions of the party – those who insist it is unviable and those who wish to see it field candidates at November’s election….

    Their first mistake appears to have been admitting people who think the party they’re joining is unviable. Enough to fill an entire faction, no less.

  12. Channel 9 news going the full anti Victorian Labor mode. They’ll need to do a lot more than that to get Guy elected.

  15. Not making electric utes, eh? LOL

    Not only making ute EVs but also making EV Kombis, Mustangs and Chargers.

    For many Americans, the image of an electric vehicle is largely confined to a futuristic sedan or boxy hatchback. But legacy automakers are racing to offer electrified versions of their classic brands, holding on to the design and sensory elements that made their gas-powered predecessors cultural touchstones.

    For Ford, that means an all-electric F-150 pickup truck with even more horsepower than before. Volkswagen has turned its bus, the iconic hippie van of the 1960s, into an ambient lounge where seat-backs fold down into tables. Dodge plans to take the signature roar of its muscle cars and play it through an electronic speaker.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/03/new-electric-cars-2022/

    I love the Kombi!

  16. Surely noone actually enjoys watching horse racing? It’s about gambling, and giving people an excuse to get shitfaced at noon on a Wednesday.

    In my late teens, I once made the mistake of going to the races. What a miserable experience that was. Sobering up at around 2 in the arvo with the sun beating down, pushing through dense crowds of drunk idiots dressed to the hilt, waiting what seemed an eternity in line to buy watered down, over-priced drinks, waiting even longer in line to use some of the most horrifying bathrooms I’ve ever been in (and I’ve travelled all across Asia), and, to top it off, you could barely even see the horses.

    I really don’t understand the appeal.

  17. My take on the US is that some of what we see on tv is in a sense quite accurate. I often caught myself thinking that I was on the set of a tv sitcom or something similar. On the other hand, there is a tendency for Hollywood to supersize things which in many ways may be aimed at taking the public’s mind of the many failings in US society, particularly in relation to the poverty and inequity which is by no means insignificant and impacts a consequential proportion of Americans.

    If these folk were to focus on the reality instead of the Hollywood glitz and glamour there might well be a revolution. It’s easier to believe in American exceptionalism because the alternative is quite ugly.

  19. @ laughtong
    For a minute there, I thought you were talking about Chs 7 and 9 here in Brisbane.
    Same shit happening here. Wonder if they can keep up the anti- Labor whinge for another 20 odd months?
    Mind you, like the Vic Opposition, the LNP up here will find a way to screw up.
    It’s in their DNA.

  20. The Packer fortune was started on a race track with Kerry’s grandfather in Tasmania:

    he found 10 shillings at a Tasmanian race track and put it on a winning horse at twelve to one. It was enough to pay his way to the mainland, to begin his newspaper career.

  21. I’ve always been fond of Kombis. I saw one for sale a few months ago that had been beautifully restored – it was selling for $45,000.

  23. Thanks for the link C@tmomma.
    https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast-episode/james-carville-better-constipated-than-evil-2/
    I don’t agree with all of it, but the gist of it feels right.
    – The GOP have become MAGA.
    – Senior Republicans are cowards (my opinion) in that they want the Democrats to take care of Trump for them while they bitterly defend Trump.
    – An interesting comment: 40% of the country is 70% of the Republican Party.
    – The Democrats have a decent chance these mid terms.
    Thanks again.

  25. The Age 04/09
    Households are paying higher prices for food because farmers are struggling to find workers to pick fruit and vegetables, the government has conceded after revealing plans to bring in at least 9000 more foreign workers to help fix the problem.
    _____________________
    Who would have thought !
    Anyone else noticed that they have been doing a lot of conceding lately.
    In so many policy areas, it’s like there has no change of govt at all.
    So much of what Labor said in opposition has been thrown out the window.
    A bees dick between them comes to mind.

  28. So, we expecting an improvement in Dutton’s approval rating, or a further declined. My money’s on the latter, but then I am rather biased.

  29. Sir Henry Parkes @10:50am

    “What annoys me about apologists for Putin, such as Noam Chomsky and John Pilger, is they accuse Ukraine of provoking Russia, simply because it wanted to join NATO, and now have nothing to say about the fact that Ukraine’s fears have been tragically justified.”

    Ukraine’s NATO and EU ambitions have little to do with this. It is Putin seizing an opportunity to make a play. Not NATO. Not the Russification of Donbas. Rather, recognising a weak neighbour.

    I find the corruption perception index at https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 to be insightful in this matter.

    In 2021, Russia is ranked =136 of 180 countries considered, with a corruption perceptions index of 28/100 alongside Angola, Liberia and Mali.

    Ukraine is ranked =122 with a CPI of 32.

    That is not great progress from the oligarchical kleptocracy both nations became in the collapse of the USSR.

    In fact, here are the CPI scores for countries of interest in 1995 (41 surveyed countries), 2001 (91 countries), 2004 (146 countries), 2008 (180 countries), 2014 (175 countries) and 2021 (180 countries) respectively. For consistency, I’ve normalised earlier results to a scale of 100 and included (rank), even though methods have changed:

    Russia: NA / 23.0 (79) / 28.0 (90) / 21.0 (147) / 27 (136) / 29 (136)
    Belarus: NA / NA / 33.0 (74) / 20.0 (151) / 31 (119) / 41 (82)
    Ukraine: NA / 21.0 (83) / 22.0 (122) / 25.0 (134) / 26 (142) / 32 (122)
    Estonia: NA / 56.0 (28) / 60.0 (31) / 66.0 (27) / 69 (27) / 74 (13)
    Latvia: NA / 34.0 (59) / 40.0 (57) / 50.0 (52) / 55 (44) /59 (36)
    Lithuania: NA / 48.0 (38) / 46.0 (44) / 46.0 (58) / 58 (40) / 61 (34)
    Georgia: NA / NA / 20.0 (133) / 39.0 (67) / 52 (51) / 55 (45)
    Moldova: NA / 31.0 (63) / 23.0 (114) / 29.0 (109) / 35 (103) / 36 (105)
    Poland: NA / 41.0 (44) / 35.0 (67) / 46.0 (58) / 61 (36) /56 (42)
    Finland: 91.2 (4) / 99.0 (1) / 97.0 (1) / 90.0 (5) / 89 (3) / 88 (1)
    Sweden: 88.7 (6) / 90.0 (6) / 92.0 (6) / 93.0 (1) / 87 (4) / 85 (4)
    Germany: 81:4 (13) / 74.0 (20) / 82.0 (15) / 79.0 (14) / 79 (12) / 80 (10)
    UK: 85.7 (12) / 83.0 (13) / 86.0 (11) / 77.0 (16) / 78 (14) / 78 (11)
    US: 77.9 (15) / 76.0 (16) / 75.0 (17) / 73.0 (18) / 74 (17) / 67 (27)
    Australia: 88.0 (7) / 85.0 (11) / 88.0 (9) / 87.0 (9) / 80 (11) / 73 (18)

    Clustering these countries, it can be seen that Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK, US and Australia set a persistently high benchmark, despite a US wobble during the Trump era.

    At the bottom end, there has not been much movement for Russia, Ukraine or Moldova, which continue to languish in low scores.

    Of the rest:
    Belarus has improved but sits just ahead of Moldova, and has stagnated since the corrupt 2015 election
    Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Georgia have risen to the top 25 percentile
    Estonia is the standout, with corruption perception comparable to Germany, UK and Australia, moving hard and moving early to remove the Soviet dead hand, bringing in a young government, digitalising early, and looking north and west for inspiration.

    These numbers have a cause: a focus on transparency, economic development, human rights. The pursuit of EU membership, NATO participation and a drive to move out the Soviet old guard have been motivating factors.

    Ukraine has been caught between its inability to contain its kleptocracy through its own political means, and the active interference of Russia. It is a weak target. But it is difficult to be strong when your neighbour is constantly interfering with cyberattacks, hybrid warfare, and kinetic military support in breakaway regions.

    This is also why I have concerns about Moldova. Separately, my concern about Georgia is more about its geographic location between Russia and Turkey, while recognising steady improvements in its integrity.

    But as for the Baltics, there is concern, yes, but not the political instability we have seen in Ukraine. Even the recent Estonian coalition crisis in June-July was handled with calm caretaker conventions in place. NATO has an enhanced forward presence in the Baltic states, bolstered by incoming members Finland and Sweden.

  30. Taylormadesays:
    Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 6:52 pm
    Dr John. aka Dr Turf.
    Correct weight ?
    —————————-
    No but I know Turfy aka John Rothfield.
    We sometimes catch up at the Warrnambool May carnival.

  31. For anyone who’s interested there’s a debate on Sky channel 103 at 9.00pm tonight about the Voice. I’ll be giving it a look.

  32. Great punting and bookie stories from Dr John, Upnorth, Granny Ammy, C@tmomma and any others.

    Brings back the days in the early nineties I would head off to the Sydney Metro tracks mid-week and Saturdays with a back the favourite plan until one won.

    It worked for a while but the stress got to me after six weeks as my bank wasn’t big enough to sustain a long string of losses, so I gave it a rest, as I decided my long service leave money was better spent on a long holiday in my birth town of Cairns.

    At the time being a bit of a mug lair, my racetrack attire of a pink flouro penguin shirt, blue stubbies with a front pocket which had $5000 in hundred-dollar notes stuffed in it, wrap around sunnies and a shaven head, wasn’t exactly up to normal racetrack standards.

    I even got a mention in the punting section of the SMH in the Gadfly column of the time.

    They were wondering about the mystery punter in the pink penguin shirt who had the bookies reaching for the dial every time I headed for them.

    It got to the stage I had to enlist some mates and split my bets, giving them the nod to go when the price was right.

    It was fun for a while but when I got to the point that I had the last of my $5000 long service pay on the favourite, and it just got up, and the resultant double brandy to settle my nerves ended up mostly on my shirtfront due to my hands shaking so much, I decided to pull the pin.

    Sorry to bore you all with this story.

    Carry on.

  33. Mavis

    Thanks for the link to the article on Hurley. I am not a lawyer but the explanation of conventions and their breaking by Morrison AND Hurley is concerning.

    To me it seems pretty clear that Australia must soon write down the conventions not recorded in the constitution. We cannot rely on goodwill to protect it.

  34. Eston Kohver

    Thanks for your thoughts on corruption and governance which I strongly agree with. I think that the level of corruption is actually more important as a predictor of social outcomes in a country than whether the system is right or left wing.

    For economic growth you are better off in a low corruption socialist country than a high corruption capitalism one. Likewise for social equity you are better off in a low corruption capitalist country than a high corruption socialist country.

    Your comments on Australia are perhaps too kind. We have slipped back quite a bit in the past decade under successive corrupt conservative governments. There is now a strong push to impose a Federal anti-corruption body (Federal ICAC) to turn the trend around.

  35. We all know that Ssussan Ley is an idiot; who jumped the shark with her ‘no one makes EV Utes’ statement, but there are many real world obstacles that make a straight ICE to EV transition for vehicles that are heavier than an average car, or that need to haul larger masses.

    Here John Cardigan neatly bursts the EV Evangelical bubble when it comes to commercial vehicles .. and in fact heavier recreational vehicles. He concludes that EV’s would in fact ruin your weekend IF your weekend involves towing a caravan, or boat long distances.

    https://youtu.be/qIlpHWo5uZo

    I think the best use for EV technology is what ACE is proposing: a series of light utes and vans for couriers and tradies that dont need a literal tonne of carrying capacity.

    https://www.ace-ev.com.au/

    For the stuff that is being made overseas, by the time it gets sold in Australia, it will cost twice as much as the venerable Hi-Lux, and as John details will likely require up to 3 hours of genuine 50 amp DC fast charging for every 90 minutes of driving under fully loaded conditions.

  36. @fess:

    “ For Ford, that means an all-electric F-150 pickup truck with even more horsepower than before. Volkswagen has turned its bus, the iconic hippie van of the 1960s, into an ambient lounge where seat-backs fold down into tables. Dodge plans to take the signature roar of its muscle cars and play it through an electronic speaker.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/03/new-electric-cars-2022/”

    As John Cardigan pulls apart – see above link – the F150 EV weighs 3 tonnes. The battery weighs 900kg. Towing a 2.8 tonne caravan at 70-mph will see it drain the battery in 90 minutes. Even with a super fast charger, it will then take 3 hours to recharge.

  37. AE

    I agree on EV utes – there will be many options available as soon as Labor changes the emission rules to match Europes.

    However the biggest shift will be hopefully opening the floodgates to the host of cheaper EV cars available in Europe but not yet here.
    https://thedriven.io/2022/04/01/four-great-and-affordable-electric-vehicles-that-still-are-not-available-in-australia/

    The impact of Australia’s design-to-fail EV policy can be shown by comparing the price of the same car in multiple countries:
    Nissan Leaf in Australia = $52,000
    Nissan Leaf in England = $4,000
    Nissan Leaf in Norway = $33,000

    That is before subsidies in each case. Its the same car!

    High demand and strangled supply means Australia’s EV market is a high priced rip-off.

    The problem is not being made overseas and high tariffs. All cars, EV or petrol, sold in Australia are tariffed the same, only 5%. It does not explain the high prices.

  39. SK, Confessions

    A really cool thing about an EV Kombi is that it will last virtually forever. Mechanically even simpler and less to break than the air cooled original.

  40. Ashasays:
    Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 7:04 pm
    So, we expecting an improvement in Dutton’s approval rating, or a further declined. My money’s on the latter, but then I am rather biased.
    ——————————
    Asha it is on record earlier that you loathe the boring sport of kings.
    Are you in favour of duck hunting?

  41. Socrates @7:54pm

    “Your comments on Australia are perhaps too kind. We have slipped back quite a bit in the past decade under successive corrupt conservative governments. There is now a strong push to impose a Federal anti-corruption body (Federal ICAC) to turn the trend around.”

    The purpose of including Australia was not in fact to make comment on corruption in Australia (about which I am, for various reasons, unwilling to comment), but to place the Eastern European figures into a context that might be familiar to readers here.

    Having said that, I don’t disagree with your observations!

  42. We’ve nearly always had Kombis, starting with a 6 volt split screen which required an elaborate ritual to start and frequently had us stopping to get out and check if the headlights were on.

    We’ve had our present one for about twenty years. It is water cooled, has a V6 Holden Commodore engine and runs on LPG.

  43. Just how many people actually need a long range heavy duty 4WD twin cab ute? And how often do they need it?

    If you want to get from Perth to Sydney, do you drive a touring car to get their or fly a plane. Transport will become a horses for courses thing. If you want to go off roading for a family get away then you should be hiring the truck for the job – not having a completely over specc’d vehicle in your garage to take the kids to the footy and carrying a few tools to a job across town just so you can do the Simpson or the Tanami once a year.

    There are a few that will need such a vehicle. I am one. When the time comes we will figure out how to run the business, carry the kit and get to and from jobs with an EV (or renewable fuel) ute. I am sure it wont be too hard.

  45. SK

    “Just how many people actually need a long range heavy duty 4WD twin cab ute? And how often do they need it?”

    Far fewer! Tradies and construction workers only make up 8% of the workforce. They do not need to buy 25% of new light vehicles. The proportion of large ute buyers has trebled in the past decade, partly due to some dubious past tax rulings.

  46. The media proprietors/Chairs are Liberal Party hierarchy

    Murdoch, Stokes and Costello

    The ALP wins elections in the face of this bias – consistently at State level including by landslide results

    What you see and what you get from media is unchanged in regard to bias

    Costello is currently raising issues in particular ALP held seats, attempting to promote an anti Labor sentiment courtesy of serial whinging (by Liberal aligned individuals including some on Local Councils – who are never identified as such noting the credentials of those taking Labor to Court over lockdowns aligned in reporting by opposition to lockdowns. Simply no one enjoyed lockdowns but what was the alternative to protect society to at least some level?)

    So media are trying to be very clever in building a narrative

    We can only trust their self interest agenda has the success it has had in recent memory, that is nil they preaching to the 30% rusted on Liberals (which includes ethnic groups with their “religion”)

    From polling it appears the general contempt for media continues to be the fact

    But they will persist

    On one hand they want strong leadership but when it is Labor it is control and is criticised

    Total contradictions

    They also try to factor into the Bible Groups which reside in outer suburbs whilst losing their former inner suburban demographic

    Typical also is the Costello headline that a Labor win will see Labor unable to do anything because it does not control the Upper House (Smedhurst)

    So by extension vote Liberal

    Who would be in the same position needing Upper House numbers

    But the headline says what it says

    You counteract by responding directly to these contributors, calling them out

    And they do not like it!!!!

    Sitting in their ivory towers

  47. The new Mitsubishi Outlander has the same floor pan and ICE as the Nissan X-Trail. It has a slightly shorter wheelbase than a HiLux crew cab. However, the recently launched PHEV version does offer 80km of real world electric only travel on its dual electric motors at below 70kmh before the ICE kicks in. Also, at speeds less than 70kmh the ICE acts as a generator for the batteries, and not as a direct geared drive. On the highway, or when grunt is especially needed, the combination of a modern 2.4L ICE engine and dual electric motors gives it staggering power and torque.

    I wonder whether this platform is actually a better option to lure the tradie class away from strictly the ICE beasts they currently prefer. With a 30kwh battery, and two way charging, a Ute version of the Outlander would offer the ability for a tradie to be self sufficient on a work site for power tools, and also have useful electricity for the family camping trip on the weekends for instance. Even if a tradie ran the thing 24/7 on hybrid power – without recharging much or trying much pure EV driving – like the Prius that would still see the amount of petrol consumed cut in half. However, I’m sure that a tradie would soon get used to ‘free’ energy by recharging overnight on off peak electricity via a simple 15 amp plug (even if they don’t get phase 3 for the house – which they probably have anyway, because being tradies, they would also likely have a pool).

  48. ”
    Cronussays:
    Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 6:31 pm
    My take on the US is that some of what we see on tv is in a sense quite accurate. I often caught myself thinking that I was on the set of a tv sitcom or something similar. On the other hand, there is a tendency for Hollywood to supersize things which in many ways may be aimed at taking the public’s mind of the many failings in US society, particularly in relation to the poverty and inequity which is by no means insignificant and impacts a consequential proportion of Americans.

    If these folk were to focus on the reality instead of the Hollywood glitz and glamour there might well be a revolution. It’s easier to believe in American exceptionalism because the alternative is quite ugly.
    ”

    Cronus
    IMHO Hollywood made a huge impact to the psyche of skilled and talented immigrants who went to US.
    They go to USA with high expectations after watching American movies and sitcoms, work hard and make huge contributions to the American society and kept it flourishing for a long time since early part of 20th century.
    For example, before 20th century USA was a poor agrarian society but was transformed from early 20th century by the repeated waves of new immigrants.
    But things are coming to a boil because those immigrants, who worked hard and prospered, are facing the ire of Americans, who lived their for generations, because they see and feel left behind as they see recent immigrants more prosperous.
    I posted a article with a video on Friday, where a American of Mexican heritage, who was born in US, abusing people of Indian heritage in Texas and asking them to go back to India. She said that since she was born in US she is true American and they are not. The Indian called the police and took her away.

  49. partly due to some dubious past tax rulings.
    —————————
    Very much so. That needs a thorough change. It discouraged (I assume still does) alternatives like lighter and more efficient AWD medium/small sized SUVs.

    On a related issue, I remember seeing the carpenters first arrive at my house site. 4 vehicles. The biggest was for the boss, an excellent carpenter who rather liked his imported shiny Dodge Ram. It carried just one thing. Him. The crew and most of the gear were in vans and a small Ute.

  50. Those plug in hybrids (there are a few coming in the market now) would be a tempting option if you had a charge point at work or perhaps battery linked solar at home for easy and cheap evening charge. But even then… 70km range isn’t very flexible. And…. after a few years… 70km becomes 60km – which is even less flexible.

    I am in two minds about this. I feel it’s worth just waiting for better EVs rather than have a two motors (or a generator). Would love to hear from people who have them and how they run them.

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