Raleigh, N.C. – As Gov. Bev Perdue rolls out her recommended budget for fiscal 2010-2011, a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute shows that nearly two out of three North Carolina voters support spending cuts or freezing spending as preferred methods to balance the state’s budget.
In the live caller poll of 600 likely 2010 voters, when asked which policy for balancing North Carolina’s budget they would most support, 45 percent of voters said that the state should cut spending and not increase taxes with an additional 18 percent saying to freeze spending on new programs for a combined 63 percent supporting tax and spending restraints. Only seven percent think tax increases should be used to fill the budget gap. Twenty-four percent said they support a mix of spending cuts and tax increases.
“North Carolina voters soundly reject the notion that the budget should be balanced by raising taxes,” said Civitas Institute Senior Legislative Analyst Chris Hayes. “Nearly two in three feel that either spending should be cut or frozen.”
Perdue’s budget proposal comes on the heels of the state Legislature raising taxes by $1.1 billion dollars last year, blatantly defying the wishes of voters who called for less spending and lower taxes.
Additionally, 65 percent of voters said high government spending was the main cause of the budget deficits.
“Voters clearly recognize that North Carolina government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” added Hayes.
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. The Institute will host its 5th anniversary poll luncheon on Wednesday, April 28 at the North Raleigh Hilton at 11:30 a.m. Event information can be found at http://www.nccivitas.org/events/. For more information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of questions:
Which policy for balancing North Carolina’s budget would you most support?
Cut Spending/No Tax Increase – 45%
Raise Tax/Preserve Programs – 7%
Mix Spending Cuts /Tax Increases – 24%
Stop Spending on New Programs – 18%
North Carolina has recently been experiencing state budget deficits. In your view, which was the single most important cause of the budget problems?
High Government Spending – 65%
Low Taxes – 6%
Both – 18%
The Impact of National Races – 6%
Not Sure – 6%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
This poll of 600 likely general election voters in North Carolina was conducted April 13-15, 2010 by Tel Opinion Research of Alexandria, Virginia. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
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