Is Congress gridlocked by partisanship? Does this mean further stagnation of the economy? See what our readers had to say and weigh in with your comments.

Here we present the results of the March 9ASIE-News survey.

It's been suggested that Congress is broken - the two political parties fighting bitterly and polarized over key issues. Do you agree that Congress is gridlocked by partisanship?

Yes: 92.754%
No: 7.246%

Does this mean further stagnation for the economy?

Yes: 86.765%
No: 13.235%

Comments:

“They need to all grow up. Maybe if we took away their health insurance, they could see what many of us have been through. I am sure Dick Cheney paid $0 for his recent surgery.”

“Without credit lines, small business is doomed. Government spending must stop for business to recover and the U.S. to survive as a nation.”

“As long as we keep electing lawyers and former Ivy League professors to Congress instead of common people who have actually had real jobs at one point in their lives, this is as good as it will ever get.”

“I feel both parties have their own agendas and are ignoring the needs and wants of the people.”

“It is disgraceful that our elected officials will not use their election promises to work together for common solutions to problems for the good of their constituents. No corporation can survive without working out difficult agreements on a daily basis. There can be no success for anyone with no action, no proposals, no diplomacy, no commitment. I cannot respect anyone who refuses to find some common solutions.”

“Gridlock in this Congress is good; (it) means no legislation at all. If no more legislation is passed, businesses can work within the known rules and move ahead. If more rules (i.e. healthcare) are going to be passed, then business will have to be stagnant until the rules are known.”

“It's OK that the government can’t get things done when what they want to do is so detrimental to the capitalist society that the U.S. is based on. We all need to realize that the entitlements that have been promised cannot be sustained and that free markets are the best way forward. When the Democrats that follow the leader are thrown out, progress will be made. Until then, gridlock may end up saving the country.”

“Every currently serving member (of Congress) should be kicked out.”

“Each side is trying to score points for their party, not work for the overall good. The Republicans don't want to solve any problems and don't want to even acknowledge that any problems exist.”

“The debate is healthy. We need one party in the White House and the other party in Congress. The Democratic party currently has too much power to control the agenda.”

“Congress is gridlocked because of greed, a public-be-damned attitude and the spurious need for ever-increasing campaign contributions from lobbyists.”

“I think there is no question that American business will not benefit from the health care plan as written. Also, this takes valuable energies away from creating tax breaks to grow business and working with countries that benefit from exporting to the U.S. to `encourage’ them to buy more American products.”

“Congress is NOT gridlocked because of partisanship. It's gridlocked because of bad policies and lack of constituent support of those ideas. The Dems have a clear majority but can't even agree among themselves. It is their bad judgment, overspending and overreaching that continue to cause problems in this economy!”

“The two-party system is flawed. No matter which party you belong to, recognize as FACT that our finances are a mess and ONLY those two parties are to blame.”

“Congress needs to stop catering to special interest groups and help small businesses that are the real driving force in employment and the economy.”

“There is a tremendous amount of old thinking with heels dug in at a time we need new ideas and action.”

“If the government let the free market work instead of interfering, we would all be better off - except for the elite class of bankers.”

“Capitol Hill is such a mess. It is like a bunch of little kids playing games, hurting us with their idiocy!”

“Unless the People (us) get vocal in a single voice and back it up to take back control of our employees in Washington, we are lost.”

“The Republican use of the filibuster is shameful.”