About that poll
Wednesday, Nov 18, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
Good Wednesday morning, Illinois. We have first dibs on a new poll that asks Illinois residents about the state’s budget mess. It shows 35 percent of those surveyed point the finger at the Illinois Legislature and another 25 percent blame Gov. Bruce Rauner. The majority of those surveyed want government pensions cut (though respondents were only given four choices). And people overwhelming (81 percent) feel the state’s headed down the wrong track. […]
– This may shock you but — residents don’t want new taxes! The survey of 600 registered Illinois voters shows 66 percent want to plug the state’s $4 billion shortfall by cutting state spending.
– 15 percent support raising taxes.
– 3 percent backed borrowing, 4 percent wanted a combination of raising taxes and spending cuts and 1 percent supported raising taxes and borrowing.
As noted later in the story, the poll was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity Illinois. Yes, AFP is a Koch brothers group, but the state chapter claims it raises its money here. The poll was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies. Click here for the full poll. Crosstabs are here.
* From the poll…
3. Who do you think is more responsible for the wrong direction of the state, (ROTATE) Governor Rauner…or…the Illinois General Assembly?
26% GOVERNOR RAUNER
35% ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
15% BOTH (DO NOT READ)
1% OTHER (SPECIFY: _______) (DO NOT READ)
4% DO NOT KNOW (DO NOT READ)
This is a question asked of only those who said the state was on the wrong track. The question wasn’t about the “state’s budget mess.” It may seem like a minor point, but there’s more to this state’s problems than the budget mess, despite what Speaker Madigan says [/snark].
And even though more people blame the GA for the state’s slide than the governor, it ain’t by much. Add in the 15 percent who said “both” and you get half blaming the GA and 41 percent blaming the governor. He’s not owning it yet, but the GA isn’t the overwhelming villain here, either.
* Also, check out this question about household income…
26% UNDER $40K
24%^ $40K-$80K
40% OVER $80K
That percentage of households earning more than $80K seems kinda high, and the percentage earning under $40K seems a bit low so the answers may be skewed. However, the other xtabs don’t seem too off.
* Also, the majority of respondents clearly believes in magic beans…
Would you favor or oppose a proposal to close the state budget shortfall that would cut one dollar in state spending for every one dollar in additional taxes?
(IF FAVOR/OPPOSE) And, would you STRONGLY (favor/oppose) or just SOMEWHAT (favor/oppose) this proposal?
To help close the state budget shortfall, which of the following programs and services would you prefer to see cut? (RANDOMIZE) (ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES)
53% GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE PENSIONS
6% MEDICAID FUNDING
22% PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
3% EDUCATION FUNDING
1% ALL OF THE ABOVE (DO NOT READ)
16% NONE OF THE ABOVE (DO NOT READ)
3% DON’T KNOW (DO NOT READ)
1% REFUSED (DO NOT READ)
If you want a dollar for dollar tax hike/budget cuts, let’s see the cuts, because, regardless of what the majority thinks, cutting government employee pensions is not gonna work.
