The telephone survey, conducted on January 24-29 following the release of Governor Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget, surveyed 602 registered voters across the state and found:
• 82 percent of voters oppose the proposed $100 million cut in K-12 education.
• When asked which area of state services voters most want to protect, K-12 education tops the list by a landslide, scoring 23 points higher than any other area.
• A majority support a balanced approach to Maryland’s budget, opting for a plan that raises taxes and cuts services, rather than only one or the other.
“The public clearly recognizes that our top priority should be protecting our schools’ progress by opposing the devastating $100 million proposed cut in education funding,” said Maryland State Education Association President Clara Floyd. “Educators, parents, and an overwhelming number of Marylanders urge legislators to keep the promise to our children and our schools by fully funding education,” said Floyd.
The poll found broad support for a number of revenue proposals, including:
• 79 percent back a 5-cent increase in the alcohol tax and 75 percent support a 10-cent increase.
• 78 percent favor an increase in the income tax from 5.5 to 6.25 percent for those making more than 1 million dollars. Support remains at 78 percent with a proposal to raise the rate from 5.5 to 8.5 percent.
• 69 percent support requiring combined reporting for corporations that do business in multiple states.
• 82 percent support a 50-cent increase in the tobacco tax and 76 percent support a 1 dollar increase.
“This poll shows that Maryland voters are sending a clear signal: protecting education is their top priority and they support a balanced approach to the state’s budget, including targeted revenue increases,” said Greenberg Quinlan Rosner pollster Michael Bocian.
The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. A copy of the polling results can be found here.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment