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On Monday Rasmussen Reports published the results of a survey which had some disturbing results: 66% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that there is too much government power and too little individual freedom, with only 8% of people holding the opposite to be true.

Rasmussen quotes the Federalist Papers No. 2 in their release, reproduced below:

“the people must cede to [the Constitution] some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.”

This we, as Americans, do freely and willingly, with the trust that those individuals we elect to uphold the Constitution will not take advantage of the power that the concession of a portion of our individual rights gives them. This high rate of dissatisfaction begs the conclusion that government is, in fact, abusing us.

These numbers follow a Gallup poll from earlier this year, which showed that Americans were at a record low in their satisfaction with the size and power of government with only 29% of people content. This was down from a peak at 60% under George W. Bush’s administration.

Gallup reported the following:

“Republicans in particular are displeased with the size and power of the federal government, with 16% satisfied and 84% dissatisfied. Democrats are more positive about the federal government, but hardly overwhelmingly so, with 49% satisfied and 47% dissatisfied. The politically crucial group of independents is slightly more negative than the national average.”

To sum it up: yes, those who are expected to be unhappy are overwhelmingly so. But, more importantly, those who could go either way, namely, independents, express the same sentiment of disappointment. Finally, those who would, predictably, be content (ie: democrats) express such contentment weakly and to a lesser degree than would be projected. Americans are not happy.

Despite this measured fact, President Obama has proven time and time again that he supports the minority, standing with the 8% of Americans who believe that we need more government and that individual freedoms should take another cut and ignoring 92% of his citizens who cry out for the contrary. The President has worked to put more aspects of American life into the hands of the government rather than the individual, the prime example being his health care reform. Now he even wants to accredit the government with the success of small, privately owned businesses.

Instead of being ignored by the executive branch, the numbers found in these two surveys should carry more weight; they should be reflected by the voices of our elected officials, especially the President, who should represent the goals and hopes of the majority of American people.  We hope to see this problem remedied in the upcoming elections.