Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina voters do not believe the current economic downturn will end soon and prefer tax cuts for all small businesses as a way to spur growth according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.
In the live caller poll of 600 likely 2010 voters, 61 percent of voters said they thought it would take more than three years for the economy to improve and the recession to end. Half of those (31 percent overall) said they thought recovery wouldn’t occur for five years or more.
“Voters understand that there is no quick fix for the economy and are pessimistic about the economy recovering anytime soon,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. “The longer the recession drags on and unemployment remains high, the higher the danger for the incumbent political party.”
In a Civitas poll in October 2009, 46 percent of voters said they thought the economy would improve in less than two years, in this month’s poll, that number is down to 29 percent.
Given a choice between cutting taxes or increasing spending to stimulate the economy, voters overwhelmingly chose tax cuts by a 68-13 percent margin.
Additionally, if the choice is between targeted tax breaks for just small businesses that hire new workers or all small businesses, voters prefer tax cuts for all businesses by a 53-34 percent margin.
“President Obama and Gov. Perdue support tax cuts for targeted businesses who hire new workers as a central part of their economic recovery plans. However, voters are saying that all small businesses deserve tax relief, not just government selected ones,” added De Luca.
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more polling information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of questions:
How long do you believe it is going to take for the economy to improve and the recession to end?
Less than a year – 4%
1-2 Years – 25%
3-4 Years – 30%
5 years or more – 31%
Not Sure – 10%
In order to create jobs and stimulate the economy is it more important to cut taxes or increase government spending?
Cut taxes – 68%
Increase spending – 13%
Not Sure – 19%
Do you agree with the proposal that would provide tax incentives to small businesses to hire new workers or should tax cuts be given to all small businesses in the state?
Hire new workers – 34%
All small businesses – 53%
Not Sure – 13%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
This poll of 600 likely general election voters in North Carolina was conducted March 16-18, 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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