What They’re Saying About the California Budget Crisis

• Californians prefer reduced government spending, not higher taxes, according to a Field Institute public opinion survey released December 28. As reported in the Sacramento Bee, more than 60 percent – including 56 percent of Democrats – believe their taxes already are somewhat or much too high. About one-third of the 1,000 adults in the poll said their taxes are much too high, another third said their taxes are somewhat high, and 32 percent said their taxes are “about right.” The poll from December 1 to 11 followed  reports that the state is facing a budget shortfall of $12 billion or more over the next 18 months. Sixty-three percent of Republicans surveyed called for spending cuts, but there was less agreement on what specifically should be axed. Poll Director Mark DiCamillo was quoted by The Bee: “The public has a tough time making these decisions. They want it both ways. They don’t want increase in their taxes and they don’t want service cuts in their programs.” The tax burden question provided responses that are about average since the Field Institute started asking the question 25 years ago. In 1982, when California was in the midst of a tax-cutting frenzy that included Proposition 13 four years earlier, Field found that 78 percent said their taxes were much too high or somewhat high.