20070225HillaryClinton

Thanks for your wonderful presentation at Google on Friday, you are a truly inspirational speaker.

I had a question which unfortunately we were not able to get to during Fridays presentation:
Given the immense cost of using imperial measures (estimates say it's 10-11% of
our GDP and about a year of education for our children), what's your stance on metrication for the USA?

Filling out the following questionnaire would also be appreciated. I am sending it to all presidential candidates.

  This questionnaire is seeking your opinion on measurement in the United
  States of America.

  For each of the following, please check all that apply:

  Do you believe your constituents want to complete metric conversion?
  [ ] Yes
  [ ] My constituents do not mind which system is in use
  [ ] No
  [ ] Not sure
  Further comments:

  Do you believe retaining US customary units damages the US economy?
  [ ] Yes, it's making it difficult to compete with metric countries like
      China and India
  [ ] Yes, there's a lot of waste because of mistakes and conversions
  [ ] No, it's not a competitive advantage
  [ ] No, it costs more to change than we gain
  [ ] Not sure
  Further comments:

  Do you believe retaining a dual system of measurement (Metric units and
  US customary units) damages the US economy?
  [ ] Yes
  [ ] No
  [ ] Not sure
  Further comments:

  How do you think the European ban of non-Metric units will effect
  the USA as a whole:
  [ ] Minimally, they already work in Metric only
  [ ] Minimally, we will have converted to Metric by then
  [ ] Minimally, we will have permitted Metric only labeling by then
  [ ] Minimally, they don't trade internationally
  [ ] Medium, they will have to build/label for the USA and the rest of
      the world separately, imposing some extra costs
  [ ] High, they will become uncompetitive in the rest of the world   
  Further comments:

  Which measurement standards do you support in the the Food Packaging and
  Labeling Act (FPLA, http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/fplact.htm):
  [ ] Forced Metric units only
  [ ] Permissible Metric units without US customary units
  [ ] Forced Metric units and US customary units
  [ ] Permissible US customary units without Metric units
  [ ] Forced US customary units only
  Further comments:

  Which do you support for teaching measurement in our schools:
  [ ] Metric only
  [ ] Metric only for Math and Science, Metric or US customary units for
      everything else as decided by the school
  [ ] Metric only for Math and Science, US customary only for everything
      else
  [ ] Metric or US customary as decided by the school
  [ ] US customary only
  Further comments:

  For building codes, which do you support:
  [ ] Metric only
  [ ] Metric or US customary as decided by the builder
  [ ] US customary only
  Further comments:

  For road signs, which do you support:
  [ ] Metric only
  [ ] Metric or US customary as decided by the builder (state/town etc) 
  [ ] US customary only
  Further comments:

  Which of the following statements about gasoline sales do you support:
  [ ] Fuel sales and oil production should be measured in liters to make
      conversions easy
  [ ] Fuel sales should be whatever the gas station wants and oil production
      should be reported in liters
  [ ] Fuel sales should be whatever the gas station wants and oil
      production should be reported in barrels
  [ ] Fuel sales should be in gallons and oil production in barrels
  Further comments:

  Should the federal government:
  [ ] Require all contracts to be Metric only
  [ ] Allow contracts to be Metric or US customary units
  [ ] Require all contracts to be US customary units only
  Further comments:

  Should the state for which you were elected from:
  [ ] Require all contracts to be Metric only
  [ ] Allow contracts to be Metric or US customary units
  [ ] Require all contracts to be US customary units only
  Further comments:

  Which timeline(s) do you support for complete conversion to Metric in
  the USA?
  [ ] < 5 years
  [ ] 5 - 10 years
  [ ] 10 - 25 years
  [ ] 25 years +
  [ ] Never
  [ ] We should stop using the Metric system all together
  Further comments:

  Please supply any further comments on measurement in the USA:

Best of luck with your campaign,
Paul