Feb. 9, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Francis De Luca (919) 834-2099 francis.deluca@nccivitas.org
More than 7 out of 10 Say Spending Is the Problem for NC
RALEIGH – The most recent Civitas Poll shows that more than seven out of 10 North Carolina voters think state government spends too much, and that spending can be reduced.
In the poll, 73 percent said state government has a spending problem, and that spending must be cut. Only 19 percent said government has a revenue problem and taxes need to be increased.
Seventy-one percent of respondents also said that cutting spending was possible.
North Carolinians’ rejection of taxes was underlined by another response. In a question about gas taxes, the survey offered three choices: raise the state gas tax, the federal gas tax, or both. But two-thirds of respondents volunteered a fourth option: neither.
The poll questioned 600 registered North Carolina voters, of whom 30 percent were “cell phone only” users and were contacted via cell phone. The survey was taken Feb. 1-3, and had a margin of error of plus/minus 4 percent.
Text of selected questions*:
Thinking for a moment about state spending in North Carolina …
Some people say we need to raise taxes to fund more needed government spending.
… and …
Other people say that government spends too much and needs to cut back to only the essentials and leave taxpayers with more money in their pockets.
With that in mind, which of the following statements comes closer to expressing the way you feel about this issue:
19% Government has a revenue problem and needs to increase taxes.
73% Government has a spending problem and needs to cut spending.
7% Don’t Know
1% Refused
Do you think it is possible to reduce state government spending in North Carolina in order to control the budget or do we need to increase state government spending?
71% Yes, we can lower spending
19% No, we need to increase state government spending
10% Don’t Know/ Refused
There is movement at the state and national level to raise the tax on gasoline to fund more transportation projects. Would you support raising the tax on gasoline at this time at the state level, the federal level, or both?
15% At Both
7% At State only
8% At Federal only
67% Neither
4% Don’t Know
*Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Crosstabs here.
For more background on the state’s fiscal policies, see our Budget Policy Guide online.
About the poll: This poll of 600 registered voters in North Carolina was conducted Feb. 1-3, 2015 by National Research, Inc., of Holmdel, NJ. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered general election voters in North Carolina. Thirty percent of the respondents were cell phone-only users. For purposes of this study, voters interviewed had to have voted in at least one of the past two general elections (2012, 2014) or be newly registered to vote since November 1, 2014. 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.”
Civitas conducts the only regular live-caller polling of North Carolina voters. For more information on Civitas polling, see http://www.nccivitas.org/category/poll/.
The Civitas Institute – “North Carolina’s Conservative Voice” – is a policy institute based in Raleigh, N.C. More information is available at www.nccivitas.org, or contact Jim Tynen at (919) 834-2099 or james.tynen@nccivitas.org.
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