HARTFORD – A new poll of likely voters shows strong support for Governor Malloy’s proposed spending cuts but strong opposition to his proposed tax increases. 57% of voters think the budget deficit should be addressed “entirely” or “mainly” though spending cuts.
30% more think it should be though an “even balance” of spending cuts and tax increases. Just 11% say it should be “mainly” or “entirely” though tax increases.
- By 73-15%, voters oppose eliminating the $500 property tax credit (least popular)
- By 68-21%, voters oppose creating a state earned income tax credit
- By 67-31%, voters oppose increasing the gas tax
- By 60-34%, voters oppose eliminating sales tax exemptions
- By 54-38%, voters oppose increasing the income tax
- By 53-43%, voters oppose increasing the sales tax
- By 71-20%, voters support seeking concessions from state employees (most popular)
- By 68-39%, voters support increasing tobacco and alcohol taxes
- By 47-28%, voters support budget cuts in social services and higher education
In other survey results:
- 58% of voters say they have considered moving out of Connecticut because of high taxes
- President Obama has a 64% job approval rating
- 52% of respondents said they would probably vote to re-elect President Obama next year
- Governor Malloy’s approval rating is 50/46
- Support for the federal health care law remains evenly divided, with 45% supporting repeal and 44% saying Congress should keep the law
- 20% of voters say they consider themselves supporters of the Tea Party Movement
For more information: Full results (PDF); Crosstabs (XLSX); Press Release (PDF)
Methodology: The phone survey was conducted on Sunday, February 20 of 500 likely Connecticut voters and has a margin or error of 4.5 % with a 95% level of confidence. The survey was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, which is associated with Rasmussen Reports. Question wording was based on public polling conducted by Quinnipiac, UNH, NBC/Wall Street Journal, Rasmussen, and Pew.
ABOUT THE YANKEE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY:
The Yankee Institute is a think tank that develops and advocates free-market and private sector solutions to public policy issues. Founded in 1984, Yankee has offices on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yankee Institute is nonpartisan research and educational organization and is classified by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit.
