After reporting today “futile talks” the Associated Press reported, “Congress' super committee conceded ignominious defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending.” Congressional negotiators conceded the obvious: that the joint Congressional committee can’t fix our Nation’s Budget Troubles. At least not now. The stock market responded with a nearly 250 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, closing at 11,547.31.
So, we should not be surprised with a new CBS News Poll that reveals Congress' approval rating has hit an all-time low of 9 percent, the first time the rating has hit single digits since the polls' inception in 1977. This all begs an interesting question, “what does Congress now rank behind?” We have the answer from UPI.Com with the 10 things more popular than Congress, and some of these things may shock you!
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
First is the IRS, which posted a 40 percent approval rating in a 2009 Gallup poll.
President Richard Nixon
Former President Richard Nixon's approval rating during the Watergate scandal that eventually ended his presidency sat at 24 percent in a 1974 Gallup poll.
The U.S. becoming Communist
In the most shocking of all of the polled sentiments, more Americans approve of their country becoming a Communist nation than approve of Congress, at 11 percent.
The Airline Industry
Just this year, 29 percent of Americans approved of the airline industry in a Gallup poll.
Paris Hilton
At the peak of her fame in 2005 (and one could say the nadir of her popularity) Hilton had a 15 percent approval rating, according to Gallup.
Lawyers
As broad as the term may be, lawyers tallied a 29 percent approval rating during a Gallup poll this year.
Oil and gas industry
The oil and gas industry has a 20 percent approval rating this year, despite ongoing concerns over prices at the pump and the hazards of drilling.
Banks
In another broad categorization, Gallup polled America's approval of the banking industry to find that 23 percent give them the thumbs up this year.
BP during the Gulf oil spill
The catastrophic blowout at the BP Deepwater Horizon site in the Gulf of Mexico apparently wasn't as much of a blowout in 2010 as Congress is today, as 16 percent of Americans approved of BP during the crisis.
President Barack Obama
It may not seem like it at times, but 46 percent of voters at least slightly approve of the job that Obama's doing up at the White House, according to the latest Rasmussen daily poll.
Congress does two things exceptionally well. 1) Nothing 2) over react.
Edited from UPI.Com 11/21/2011
