Poll: Voters skeptical of state reform proposals

LA Times ^ | 11/9/09 | Evan Halper

[NormsRevenge]

Reporting from Sacramento - Backers of an overhaul of California's government, who hope to leverage disgust with Sacramento into support for changing how the state raises taxes and spends money, have a difficult path ahead, according to a new poll of California voters.

Major segments of the electorate see the state's problems as the product of unrestrained lawmakers driven by special interests to waste taxpayer money, and reject arguments that structural issues with the state's Constitution and government institutions are to blame.

Voters don't want the tax code overhauled in the ways that many fiscal experts promise would tamp down the wild revenue swings .. They don't want the Constitution changed to allow a simple majority of lawmakers to push a budget onto the governor's desk, .. And they don't want the state to touch Proposition 13 property tax restrictions,..

...

More than a third of those polled said they or a family member had lost a job in the last year. Nearly half said they or someone in their family had been hit with a cut in take-home pay, and 57% said their investments or those of family members had dropped by more than a quarter.

The recession's impact is particularly strong among blacks and Latinos, with 57% of Latinos and 41% of blacks in the survey saying they or someone in their family had lost a job as a result of the recession. ..

Nearly a quarter of those polled said they or someone in their family had lost healthcare coverage as a result of the recession. And 27% said they or someone in their family had put off or canceled a medical appointment or prescription in the last year because of the cost.

The findings .. from Los Angeles Times/USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences poll.

[NormsRevenge]

California.. land of Cap ‘n Spend

small cap big spend

[edcoil]

“disgust with Sacramento”

And this group supports more power to be given to sacramento...