No Obvious Bias

The WSJ has been running a poll to ascertain whether readers' purchasing habits would change or have changed in the wake of much higher gas prices. We're a 40-gallon-per-month household, so even if the price were to rise to, say, $10 per gallon we wouldn't cut back on our driving or reduce our spending in other areas. That's only if we view the question narrowly.

At the $10 level the general economy would be affected in numerous ways. More companies would go out of business, more people would be thrown out of work, and the changed environment would cause us to change our behavior. For example, if the local supermarket closed, or the school district suspended its bus system, our daily routine would be disrupted. Another example of how polls can mislead, even if questions do not have an obvious bias. © 2007 Stephen Yuen

Poll results as of 5:30 a.m. PDT.