California Field Poll Shows Voters Prefer Budget Cuts to New Taxes in Theory, But Oppose Specific Cuts When Identified

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The California Field Poll has just released figures from their survey of registered voters, which they describe as “paradoxical views about the state deficit.”

This survey of over a thousand voters, gives us a big clue as to why we are in the mess we are in when it comes to the budget and getting our state’s fiscal house in order. In short, voters say that they prefer that the massive budget deficit be dealt with mostly by spending cuts over being dealt with by mostly tax increases. As a general principle, they say this overwhelmingly—63% to 26%. But when asked about making cuts in specific areas of the budget, by even larger margins they oppose cuts in the vast majority of these areas. And they have deep concerns about budget cuts in health, an area measured in some detail as to different kinds of health programs funded by the state budget.

The numbers are quite amazing. They fill in the voters’ generalized feelings, as reflected in earlier polls that one could cut 10% to 20% of the state budget without seeing a real decline in services vital to California. This may be due to the Democrats’ protection of these programs in the past and even the Governor’s unwillingness to make major cuts in these popular and I would say necessary programs for our future. Even Republican legislators, if you look back to last year’s budget dance, were not willing to publicly reveal the specific cuts they wanted to make, but entered into closed door meetings with Democrats with a list they didn’t want to make public. Nobody wants to have their fingerprints on budget cuts.

Hence the notion that there is “fat” to be cut. If these cuts are made, these results show, the public will see that the cuts are to muscle and tendons that hold us together.

The one area that stands out where California voters support cuts is in prison and correctional spending, but it will remain to be seen if they vote for tough law and order increases in sentencing that will be on the ballot in November and that will lock the state into billions of dollars of more spending through the ballot box.

Let’s look at the specific numbers.