Posted on 06/12/2003 4:24:33 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
SACRAMENTO -- Forget the Capitol, Californians themselves are in budget gridlock, rejecting both service cuts or tax increases to close a $38 billion deficit. And their reluctance seems to stem from a growing mistrust of government, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday.
Californians don't want to pay more taxes on their vehicles (58 percent oppose) or on sales tax (52 percent oppose). And they don't want to saddle the rich with higher income taxes (48 percent oppose).
The only tax increase proposed by Gov. Gray Davis that people like is the per-pack tax on cigarettes (71 percent support).
With just days before the Sunday constitutional deadline to adopt a spending plan, lawmakers remain deadlocked, with Democrats against further spending cuts and Republicans shunning tax increases. The Davis administration has warned that a delay will hinder efforts to borrow the billions the state needs to stay in business.
Meanwhile, Californians' opinions are as polarized as the Legislature.
Half of those surveyed said they'd be willing to pay a half-cent more sales tax to pay for Davis' proposed $10.7 billion "deficit-reduction bond." But 54 percent said they'd rather not pay more taxes in general to finance the debt.
And, when asked what they thought about the state borrowing in general, 66 percent called it a bad idea.
"It's a dilemma for the public, because they feel like the alternatives being presented them are unattractive," said Mark Baldassare, poll director for the Public Policy Institute of California.
Poll results were based on telephone interviews of 2,003 adults, between May 22 and June 1, and have margins of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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Among the findings:
* 82 percent of Californians oppose spending cuts to K-12 schools. And 67 percent would pay more taxes to keep that from happening.
* 55 percent suggest spending less on prisons -- the only budget category that a majority was willing to cut.
* 73 percent said they'd vote for a $12.3 billion school-bond measure on the March ballot.
* Californians are willing to tinker around the edges of Proposition 13: 57 percent said it would be all right to change the way commercial properties are taxed.
Respondents overwhelmingly (70 percent) sided with the Republican call for a spending cap.
But they were divided on the Democratic call to do away with the requirement for a two-thirds majority to enact a budget -- 46 percent like the idea, 43 percent don't. The rest don't know.
All in all, Californians don't trust their government.
* 52 percent think state government wastes "a lot of the money."
* 60 percent trust government "only some of the time," while 29 percent trusted it "most of the time."
* 64 percent disapprove of Davis' job performance, but 52 percent say the budget would be just as bad if he were recalled from office.
"Only a third of Californians said that they trusted the state government to do what is right," Baldassare said. "That was the lowest number we've seen. I think that says a lot about where we are.
"I think that's what it's all about," he said.
* To reach Capitol Bureau Chief Will Shuck, phone (916) 441-4078 or e-mail sacto@recordnet.com
* DEFICIT: $38 billion.
* DEADLINE: Spending plan must be adopted by Sunday.
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IMO the voters of California are irresponsible.
They just happened to slip that in there didn't they...
Kelly, can you post McClintocks stats on tax revenues since 1978 ?
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