-
!! ! ! ! ! !!! !!!!!!!!!!! ! ! !! ! !
!
! ! !!! ! !MEDIA!ADVISORY!
!American!Experiments!State%of%Prosperity!poll!will!!reveal!areas!of!surprising!bipartisan!consensus!!
!Saint!Paul,!MN!!Center!of!the!American!Experiment!will!release!the!results!of!its!first!State%of%Prosperity!survey!on!Friday,!May!8.!!The!survey!was!conducted!by!Rob!Autry,!founder!of!CharlestonBbased!Meeting!Street!Research.!Autry!is!one!of!Americas!premier!pollsters.!Before!founding!Meeting!Street,!he!was!a!partner!at!Public!Opinion!Strategies.!His!firm!interviewed!500!registered!voters!statewide!by!telephone!(30!percent!by!cell!phone)!between!April!26B28.!It!has!a!margin!of!error!of!plus!or!minus!4.38!percent.!!Note:!Reporters/editors!may!receive!an!embargoed!(6!a.m.!Friday,!May!8)[email protected].!!!Rob!Autry!is!available!for!interviews.!!!
!
# # #
May!7,!2015! Contact:!
Tom!Mason,!Mason!Public!Affairs!612B664B0570!651B233B4230!(cell)[email protected]!!
-
Building a Culture of Prosperity
The State of Prosperity survey
A SURPRISING CONSENSUSMinnesotans agree on an unexpected number
of legislative issuesBut there is a growing split between voters in
the metro and non-metro regions
By Rob Autry, founder, Meeting Street Research
-
s Minnesotas legislators proceed through the final days of their
2015
session, Minnesotans appear to be sur-prisingly unified on
issues related to the budget, transportation, health care, and
state pensions, perhaps explained by a strong perception of the
states improving economy.
These are some of the findings of a survey conducted by my firm,
Meeting Street Research, on behalf of Center of the American
Experiment. We inter-viewed 500 registered voters statewide by
telephone (30 percent by cell phone) between April 26-28. This
survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percent.
Among other things, our State of Prosperity survey revealed the
following results:
The Surplus: Minnesotans staunch-ly oppose using the proceeds of
the states expected $1.9 billion budget surplus to fund new or
expand exist-ing government programs. Only 13 percent favor such
spending. Voters would rather see the surplus saved for a rainy day
(39 percent) and used to cut future taxes (38 percent).
Transportation: A whopping 94 percent of Minnesotans favor
public spending on modernizing and ex-panding aging roads,
highways, and bridges. They overwhelmingly favor funding
improvements through use of existing sales tax revenue (65 percent)
over raising the gas tax (29 percent).
Health Care: When asked how best to contain the rising costs of
health care, Minnesotans dramatically favor increased competition
in health insur-ance (59 percent) over single-payer health care in
which all Americans would get their health insurance from one
health plan that is financed by taxes (35 percent).
Public Pensions: A majority (51 percent) of Minnesotans think
that the financial solvency of the states system of public pensions
poses a potential problem. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) think
that public employees should transition to a kind of 401(k)-style
pension system that is commonly used by private sector
employers.
A Tale of Two Minnesotas?
Overall, Minnesotans exhibit a sense of optimism about their
states overall prospects. Fifty-eight percent of voters say things
in the state are heading in the right direction, while 36 percent
believe were off on the wrong track. Thats a startling reversal of
their feelings about the country as a whole (34 percent right
direction, 57 percent wrong track).
But, it is important to emphasize that
Building a Culture of Prosperity
About the pollsterRob Autry, founder of Meeting Street Research,
is one of the nations lead-ing pollsters and research strategists.
The Meeting Street Research team has 25 years of combined public
opin-ion research experience and 2,000 research projects under its
belt.
Before founding Meeting Street, Autry was a partner at Public
Opinion Strategies.
1 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org
A
Editors Note: Geographic definitions
When this analysis refers to Minneapolis-St. Paul, it means
Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Collar counties are Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Scott, Washington, and Wright. A reference to the Twin
Cities or metro combines Minneapolis-St. Paul and the collar
counties.
-
there is a distinct difference between the prospective
enthusiasm of residents in the Twin Cities and its suburbs (+26
percent right direction), and the distinctively less upbeat
attitudes of people who live in Greater Minnesota (+15 percent
right
direction). That attitude endures in their differing
attitudes about the economy. Minneso-tans believe their states
economy has improved in the last year (46 percent gotten better, 10
percent gotten worse).
They also perceive that things are better in Minnesota than in
the nation overall (61 percent better, 31 percent worse). But
again, this positive sentiment is notice-ably higher among metro
residents. While 60 percent of residents of the Twin Cities believe
that the economy has improved in the past year, only 36 percent of
Greater Minnesota agreesa significant drop off.
Whats more, the fact that 61 percent of Minnesotans declare that
their states economy is better than other regions in the country is
similarly boosted by the Twin Cities (71 percent) and suburbs (61
percent). Residents of Greater Minnesota demonstrate less economic
optimism: 49 percent in the northeast, 52 percent in the south, and
58 percent in the west and northwest.
It is also revealing that many Minneso-tans believe that
economic prosperity has not extended to their personal
circum-stances. Only 20 percent of Minnesotans believe that their
personal financial situa-tion has gotten better in the past year;
16 percent believe it has gotten worse. This is an important and
significant distinction.
Dont Spend the Surplus
As the state legislature expects the state to receive the
proceeds of a $1.9 billion budget surplus, Minnesotans are
unambiguousand bipartisanin expressing their opposition to
spend-ing it on new or expanded programs. When asked to choose just
one of three optionssave it for a rainy day, use it to cut future
taxes, or spend it on new or expanded government programs just 13
percent opted for new spending. The other options were split
evenly: 39 percent rainy day, 38 percent future taxes. A plurality
of Independents (41 percent) and a majority of Republicans (55
percent) prefer future tax cuts, while more Democrats want to save
for a rainy day (43 percent). In fact, just one out of four
Democrats (26 percent) believe we should spend the surplus on
creating or expanding government programs.
www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 2
-
On top of this, there was deep bipar-tisan support (64 percent)
for the notion of limiting how much lawmakers can increase state
spending, such as limiting the growth in spending to the growth in
inflation or personal income (36 percent strong support, 27 percent
somewhat support). This idea enjoyed the broad-est support of all
the issues we tested, cutting across all demographics: 76 percent
from Republicans, 65 percent from Independents, and 53 percent from
Democrats.
Peter Nelson, the Centers director of policy, is an expert on
legislative budgeting in Minnesota. He says, Min-nesotans expect
lawmakers to spend tax
dollars responsibly and so its not too surprising that people
across the partisan divide support setting reasonable limits on
spending. A number of traditionally Democratic states impose such
limits, such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and
Washington.
Fix the Roads with Existing Funding
Minnesotans were similarly unequiv-ocal about transportation
issues. When presented with a variety of transporta-tion-related
policy initiatives, from roads to transit, they pretty much
selected all of the above. They overwhelmingly (94 percent!)
support the priority of extend-ing and modernizing Minnesotas aging
roads, highways, and bridges. To find 94 percent support of almost
anything is a rare result in polling. And while there is
high (65 percent to 29 percent) support for making roads a
priority over mass transit projects like light rail, there
re-mained 65 percent support for bus rapid transit, but also 61
percent for expanding light rail projects.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, a former state senator and coauthor of the
chapter on transportation in the Centers Minnesota Policy
Blueprint, said the overwhelming support for prioritizing
transportation funding is the key takeaway from this, particularly
when coupled with such a consistent opposition to gas tax
funding.Its clear that Minnesotans expect their leaders to find the
means within the current revenue sources to get the job done. The
Center has offered possible solutions and the House, in particular,
has responded with a number of excel-lent proposals that do just
this.
At the same time, Minnesotans were just as explicit about how
they wanted to fund the states transportation projects. When asked
to choose between raising the gas tax or choosing instead to rely
on the existing sales taxes on automo-bile-related expenses, they
reject the gas
tax by more than two-to-one (65 percent to 29 percent). This is
telling data. Re-publicans overwhelmingly reject the gas tax (79
percent to 14 percent), but so did Independents (68 percent to 24
percent). Democrats narrowly support the gas tax (50 percent to 45
percent).
Reducing the Cost of Health Care
We tried to cut through the clutter and increasing confusion
about health care by using one question to probe possible solutions
to the rising costs of health care in Minnesota. We asked which ONE
thematic solution will better contain those costs: a single-payer
health care system in which all Americans get their health
insurance from one health plan that is financed by taxes OR a
health insurance market in which people use employer contributions
to choose their own health plan?
The result: competition, by a wide margin, 59 percent to 35
percent.
Says Peter Nelson: Various laws on the books stifle
value-enhancing competition in health care markets, but
Building a Culture of Prosperity
3 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org
Minnesotans oppose spending the surplus on new or expanded
programs.
-
its not always clear whether the public understands this fact.
Its good to see that Minnesotans appreciate how com-petition can
improve health care, just as it improves so many other things in
our daily lives, like phones, cars and the
restaurants we frequent.Opinions about health care continue
to
cut by party. Republicans favor com-petition 82 percent to 13
percent, and Democrats show a little more dissent by favoring
single payer 57 percent to 41
percent. Independent voters, who consti-tute about 25 percent of
the Minnesota electorate, widely prefer competition, 56 percent to
32 percent.
Answers to this question also yielded dramatic differences by
region. Voters in the Twin Cities are split on whats best to
contain costs (48 percent increased competition in the marketplace,
44 percent single-payer system). But, voter preference for
increased competition in the marketplace grows the farther you get
from the city center. Those who re-side in the collar counties back
increased
competition over a single-payer system by a 59 percent to 35
percent margin, while voters in the south (61 percent competition,
33 percent single payer), west/northwest (66 percent, 29 percent),
and northeast regions (74 percent, 24 percent) of the state are
even more strongly supportive of this solution.
Reform Public PensionsDespite the back-burner visibility
of the financial instability of pension plans for Minnesotas
state and local government employees, almost half of Minnesotans
consider it a problem (17 percent serious, 34 percent somewhat
serious). The fact that more than 50 percent of the states
residents consider something a problem is significant, especially,
in this case, when 22 percent of respondents admit they dont yet
know enough about the issue.
When you present the option to tran-sition public employees to a
401(k)-
www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 4
Minnesotans overwhelmingly reject the gas tax (65 percent to 29
percent)
-
style plan, similar to private sector employees, nearly
two-thirds of Minne-sotans give it support (64 percent to 26
percent). And this is heavily bipartisan. Republicans support it 82
percent to 13 percent, Independents support it 61 percent to 23
percent, and Democrats support it 50 percent to 39 percent. Another
interesting segment of support can be found by age. Men aged 18-54
support the 401(k) option 64 percent to 26 percent, while women
aged 18-54 percent support it 69 percent to 23 percent.
Bringing the public sector into line with the private sector has
many virtues, says Kim Crocket, executive vice president of Center
of the Amer-ican Experiment and a long-time key advocate of pension
reform. Besides offering fully funded, mobile retirement assets to
young employees, it ends the unsound practice of taking on new,
unfunded liabilities that are guaranteed by taxpayers. This makes
it more likely that we can fully honor the promises we have already
made, but not ful-ly funded, to retirees and long-time employees.
It also takes the backroom politics out of retirement savings and
investments.
The Met Council The Great Unknown
For an organization that exercises substantial regional power
and influ-
ence, opinions about the Metropolitan Council are surprisingly
soft. Most Minnesotans, even those who live in the Met Councils
seven-county region, dont really have firm opinions about it. Among
its constituents, 24 percent view
it favorably, 22 percent view it unfavor-ably, and 33 percent
have never heard of it. These can only be considered underwhelming
image numbers. For the record, outside of its jurisdiction, only 25
percent have heard of it (12 percent
Building a Culture of Prosperity
5 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org
More than 50 percent view the financial instability of public
pensions as a problem.
-
positive, 13 percent negative).The Met Councils support is
highly
partisan: Republicans view it negatively (32 percent to 12
percent), Democrats view it positively (28 percent to 8 percent)
and Independents are split (12 percent positive, 14 percent
negative).
After providing basic information about the Met Council, we
tested basic concepts about its new long-term plan for its region.
We received mixed and contradictory results.
For me, the big takeaway with our Met Council questions is that
opinions about the council and its plans are largely unformed;
among those that do have opinions, they are very soft. Over 50
percent have either never heard of Met Council or have no opinion
about the it. There are different ways to interpret this data, but
I conclude that Minnesotans have not received sufficient
information about the Met Councils plans.
A Split on Renewable Energy
Minnesotans expressed moderate support for requiring electric
utilities to generate electricity from renewable resources, even if
it means residents and businesses pay higher electrical prices.
While the intensity on either side of the issue is a wash26 percent
of Minneso-tans strongly support the idea, 25 percent strongly
oppose itoverall, 54 percent either support it strongly or
somewhat.
Education MattersMinnesotans choose education as their
legislative priority.
www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 6
When asked to choose from a list of potential obstacles to a
successful system of education in Minnesota, 55 percent of
respondents selected par-ents not involved in their kids education.
(Note: respondents could include multiple answers.)
Whats interesting is the high level of bipartisan agreement on
the parents response. While Repub-licans (61 percent) and
Independents (52 percent) both named it the top con-cern, Democrats
also listed it at 52 percent, although lack of funding (60 percent)
and poverty (55 percent) scored higher.
Mitch Pearlstein, the Centers founder and president, says that
hes pleased through not surprised that parental involvement was
seen by a clear majority of Minnesotans as critical. Without
question, though, he says, people conceive of such engagement in
different ways.Most basi-cally it means mothers and fathers staying
on top of their children, making certain they do their homework,
showing up for parent-teacher conferences, and overall making it
clear to their boys and girls that learning is vitally more
important both for intrinsic reasons and for their future
well-being and success as adults.
He says that many concerns about parental involvement are even
more basic, focusing, quite frankly, on whether some mothers and
fathers are adequately equipped to be effective parents in the
first place. This is especially the case when it comes to many kids
growing up in unstable, single-parent situations. How do we
encourage and help such parentswho are usually poorly educated
them-
selves help their children? And for manynot that these
categories are exclusive of each otherthe need for great-er
parental involvement has to do with affording parents wider choices
in where their children can attend school.
He cited three major surveys over the last two decades regarding
what Minnesotans think about different kinds of educational choice,
including vouchers, tax credits, and, more recently, education
savings accounts. In each instance, endorsement of broader
education freedom has been strong, with vouchers, for example,
garnering sup-port from nearly two-thirds of all interviewees each
time, he says.
-
Center of the American Experiment develops and promotes policies
which encourage economic growth and a culture of individual, family
and
civic responsibility. Our workfirmly rooted in conservative and
free market principlesfocuses on original research, op-eds,
public forums, legislative briefings, and various other means
for turning essential ideas into tangible action.
8441 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 350, Golden Valley, MN 55426 (612)
338-3605 AmericanExperiment.org
-
!! 1! www.meetingstreetresearch.com
!
!MINNESOTA STATEWIDE VOTER SURVEY
Field&Dates:&&& &
April&26128,&2015&Sample&Size:& &
N=500&Registered&Voters&(30%&cell)&Margin&of&Error:&&
+/14.38%&
*"Denotes"result"less"than"0.5%.""Due"to"rounding,"some"figures"may"be"higher"or"lower"by"less"than"one;half"of"one"percent."!!Screener"Question"A"Before!we!begin,!I!need!to!know!if!I!have!reached!you!on!a!cell!phone,!and!if!so,!are!you!in!a!place!where!you!can!talk!safely!without!endangering!yourself!or!others?!
!30%! Yes,!cell!and!in!safe!place!70%! No,!not!on!cell!
!"Screener"Question"C"Are!you!registered!to!vote!at!(IF!LAND:!this!address/IF!CELL:!your!home!address!in!Minnesota)?!!100%!
YES!!!!Question"1"To!start,!thinking!about!things!nationally...!Generally!speaking,!would!you!say!that!things!in!the!country!are!going!in!the!right!direction,!or!have!they!gotten!off!on!the!wrong!track?!
!34%! RIGHT!DIRECTION!57%! WRONG!TRACK!!!9%!
NO!OPINION!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!1%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!"
-
!!! 2!2
Question"2"Next,!turning!our!attention!to!things!here!in!Minnesota...!Generally!speaking,!would!you!say!that!things!in!Minnesota!are!going!in!the!right!direction,!or!have!they!gotten!off!on!the!wrong!track?!
!58%! RIGHT!DIRECTION!36%! WRONG!TRACK!!!4%!
NO!OPINION!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!Question"3"Thinking!now!about!some!issues,!which!TWO!of!the!following!issue!areas!do!you!believe!should!be!the!top!priorities!for!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature?!Would!it!be...!(RANDOMIZE.&RECORD&AS&RANKED&FIRST&AND&SECOND&CHOICE)!
!(PROMPT&IF&NEEDED)!And,!what!would!you!say!is!the!NEXT!top!priority!for!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature?!(DO&NOT&READ&LIST&UNLESS&ASKED&TO)!!1st&
Comb&22%! 36%! Education!12%! 22%! The!economy!12%! 20%!
State!government!spending!!!9%! 20%!
Traffic!and!transportation!infrastructure!!!9%! 18%! Taxes!!!!8%!
17%! Jobs!here!in!Minnesota!!!8%! 15%! Health!care!!!!7%! 12%!
Moral!issues!and!decline!of!the!family!!!5%! !!9%! Poverty!!!3%!
!!7%! Climate!change!!!2%! !!7%! Race!relations!!!1%! !!5%!
Crime!!
!!!1%! !!1%! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!!1%! !!1%!
NONE!OF!THE!ABOVE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!1%! !!1%!
DON'T!KNOW/!REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!
-
!!! 3!3
Question"4"Turning!our!attention!to!the!economy!Over!the!last!year,!do!you!think!Minnesotas!economy!has!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!!46%!
Gotten!better!10%! Gotten!worse!42%! Stayed!about!the!same!!!2%!
Not!sure!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff!
Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!"Question"5"And,!compared!to!the!rest!of!the!country,!do!you!believe!Minnesotas!economy!is...!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!!61%!
Better!!!5%! Worse!31%! Or!about!the!same!
...as!the!national!economy?!!!4%!
DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!Question"6"Over!the!last!year,!has!your!personal!financial!situation!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!
!20%!! Gotten!better!16%! Gotten!worse!63%!
Stayed!about!the!same!!!*! Not!sure!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!*!
Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!" "
-
!!! 4!4
Question"7"Now,!I!want!to!turn!our!attention!to!the!Metropolitan!Council,!also!known!as!the!Met!Council.!To!start,!please!tell!me!first!if!you!have!heard!of!the!Met!Council!and!if!your!opinion!is!favorable!or!unfavorable.!!(IF&FAV/UNFAV,&ASK)!And!would!that!be!STRONGLY!(favorable/unfavorable)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(favorable/unfavorable)?!!
!!!4%! Very!Favorable!15%! Somewhat!Favorable!!!7%!
Somewhat!Unfavorable!11%! Very!Unfavorable!29%!
Heard!of/No!Opinion!(DO&NOT&READ)!33%! Never!Heard!of!!!2%!
Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!65%$ TOTAL$HEARD$OF$19%$
TOTAL$FAVORABLE$18%$ TOTAL$UNFAVORABLE$" "
-
!!! 5!5
Questions"8;11"Thinking!some!more!about!this!The!Met!Council!was!created!in!the!1960s!with!limited!planning!and!coordinating!powers!over!regional!infrastructure!!mainly!sewers!and!roads!for!the!seven!counties!that!make!up!the!Twin!Cities!metropolitan!area.!Over!the!years,!the!Councils!scope!and!power!have!expanded!to!include!approving!local!governments!comprehensive!plans,!allocating!federal!transportation!funds,!administering!some!affordable!housing!programs,!and!operating!regional!transit!and!waste!water!systems.!!All!17!members!of!the!Met!Council!are!appointed!by!the!Governor.!!Now,!having!heard!more!about!the!Met!Council!I!am!going!to!read!you!a!series!of!different!views!about!the!Met!Councils!plans!for!transportation!and!housing.!!After!I!read!each!view,!please!tell!me!if!you!AGREE!or!DISAGREE!with!that!particular!viewpoint.!!The!(FIRST/NEXT)!one!is!!&(IF&AGREE/DISAGREE,&ASK)!And!do!you!COMPLETELY!(AGREE/DISAGREE)!or!just!MOSTLY!(AGREE/DISAGREE)!that!view?!!TOT&
TOT& COMPLETELY& MOSTLY& MOSTLY& COMPLETELY&
DK/REF&AGREE&DISAG& AGREE&& AGREE&&
DISAGREE& DISAGREE&
(DNR)&!(8)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!RIGHT!to!focus!public!resources!on!developing!highfdensity!housing!along!fixed!rail!transit!lines!to!reduce!reliance!on!cars!and!encourage!more!residents!to!take!public!transit.!!62%&
29%& 16%! ! 46%! ! 17%! ! 13%! !
!!9%!&"(9)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!WRONG!to!prioritize!tax!dollars!for!light!rail!transit!projects,!while!virtually!ignoring!congestion!relief!on!our!roads!and!highways.!52%&
38%! 19%! ! 33%! ! 26%! ! 12%! !
10%!!!"(10)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!RIGHT!to!focus!on!developing!plans!to!disperse!lowfincome!people!throughout!the!metro!area!and!require!communities!to!plan!for!and!promote!affordable!housing!and!build!it!in!higher!income!areas.!50%&
39%! 14%! ! 35%! ! 20%! ! 20%! ! 11%&
!!""(11)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!WRONG!because!it!prioritizes!and!gives!funding!preferences!to!the!urban!areas!at!the!expense!of!suburban!communities.!48%&
37%& 16%! ! 32%! ! 28%! ! !!9%! ! 15%
-
!!! 6!6
Question"12!Next,!I!am!going!to!give!you!a!list!of!different!factors!that!some!say!are!obstacles!to!a!successful!education!system!in!the!state.!!After!I!read!them,!please!tell!me!which!ONES!you!believe!are!significant!challenges!facing!Minnesotas!education!system!today.!!(RANDOMIZE&AND&ACCEPT&MULTIPLE&RESPONSES)&!55%!
Parents!not!involved!in!their!kids!education!45%!
Too!much!bureaucracy!45%! Lack!of!funding!42%! Poverty!41%!
Family!breakdown!28%! Teacher!quality!25%!
Teachers!union!blocks!reform!efforts!24%! Lazy!students!16%!
Not!enough!choice!and!competition!between!schools!!!!1%!
ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%!
NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%!
REFUSED/DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)&&& &
-
!!! 7!7
Questions"13;16!Next,!were!going!to!look!at!a!series!of!proposals!dealing!with!transportation!issues!that!might!be!considered!this!year!by!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature.!!After!I!read!each!one,!please!tell!me!if!you!would!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!that!proposal.!!The!(FIRST/NEXT)!one!is!(RANDOMIZE)!!(IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!proposal?!!TOT&
TOT& & STRG& SMWT&& SMWT&STRG& &
NO& DK/&SUPPT&OPPO& & SUPPT&SUPPT&&
OPPO& OPPO& & DIFF&
REF&!(15)"Modernizing!and!expanding!aging!roads,!highways!and!bridges!94%&
&&3%& & 68%! 26%! ! !!2%! !!2%! ! !!*!
!!2%!""(16)"Prioritize!funding!for!updating!roads!and!bridges!over!funding!for!mass!transit!projects!like!light!rail!&65%&
29%! ! 33%! 32%! ! 15%! 13%! ! !!2%!
!!4%!""(14)"Focusing!transit!spending!on!less!costly!options,!such!as!bus!rapid!transit!65%&
30%& & 23%! 43%! ! 17%! 12%! ! !!*!
!!5%!""(13)"Expanding!light!rail!projects!!61%& 35%! ! 30%!
31%! ! 14%! 21%! ! !!1%! !!3%!!!!!!" "
-
!!! 8!8
Question"17"The!state!legislature!is!currently!debating!how!to!pay!to!maintain!Minnesotas!roads!and!bridges.!!I!am!going!to!read!you!two!different!viewpoints!on!this!issue!and!after!I!read!both!of!them,!tell!me!which!ONE!you!tend!to!support!the!most.!!(RANDOMIZE)!!29%!
(One/Another)!side!believes!we!should!raise!the!gas!tax.!!
while!!!65%!
(Another/One)!side!believes!we!should!not!raise!taxes!and!instead!use!the!
existing!sales!tax!on!automobile!related!expenses,!such!as!auto!parts!and!car!rentals.!!
!!!2%! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!4%!
NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!ff!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!Question"18!Next,!Id!like!to!ask!a!couple!questions!about!public!pensions!!thats!the!pension!plan!for!state!and!local!government!employees.!!Based!on!what!you!know,!how!serious!is!the!current!financial!situation!with!Minnesotas!public!pensions?!!!Is!it!a!very!serious!problem,!somewhat!serious,!not!too!serious!or!not!a!serious!problem!at!all?!!17%!
Very!serious!problem!34%! Somewhat!serious!!14%!
Not!too!serious!12%! Not!a!serious!problem!at!all!22%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!51%$
TOTAL$SERIOUS$PROBLEM$27%$ TOTAL$NOT$A$SERIOUS$PROBLEM$!!
-
!!! 9!9
Question"19"Would!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!a!plan!to!transition!Minnesotas!public!employees!from!their!current!pension!plan!to!the!kind!of!401!Kfstyle!pension!system!that!is!commonly!used!by!private!sector!employers?!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!plan?!!39%!
STRONGLY!SUPPORT!24%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!11%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!15%!
STRONGLY!OPPOSE!10%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!64%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$26%$
TOTAL$OPPOSE$!!Question"20!Now!lets!talk!about!health!care.!Health!care!costs!continue!to!increase!faster!than!growth!in!the!overall!economy.!!Which!ONE!of!the!following!do!you!believe!is!a!better!way!to!contain!rising!health!care!costs?!!35%!
Create!a!single!payer!health!care!system!in!which!all!Americans!would!get!their!
health!insurance!from!one!health!plan!that!is!financed!by!taxes.!!!
OR!59%!
Increase!competition!in!the!health!insurance!market!by!letting!people!use!
employer!contributions!to!choose!their!own!health!plan.!!!!ff!
ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!3%!
NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!
-
!!! 110
Question"21"Changing!topics!and!looking!at!energy!nextDo!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!requiring!Minnesota!electric!utilities!to!generate!electricity!from!renewable!resources,!even!if!it!means!Minnesota!residents!and!businesses!pay!higher!electricity!prices?!!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!requirement?!!26%!
STRONGLY!SUPPORT!28%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!17%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!25%!
STRONGLY!OPPOSE!!!4%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!54%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$42%$
TOTAL$OPPOSE$!!Question"22!On!the!issue!of!the!state!budget!Do!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!placing!a!limit!on!how!much!lawmakers!can!increase!state!spending,!such!as!limiting!the!growth!in!spending!to!the!growth!in!inflation!or!personal!income?!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!the!spending!limit?!!36%!
STRONGLY!SUPPORT!27%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!16%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!13%!
STRONGLY!OPPOSE!!!7%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!64%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$29%$
TOTAL$OPPOSE$$"
-
!!! 111
Question"23"And,!finally,!the!State!economic!forecast!says!that!the!state!is!probably!going!to!have!a!1.9!billion!dollar!budget!surplus.!Which!ONE!of!the!following!do!you!think!should!be!the!legislatures!top!priority!for!allocating!the!excess!funding?!!(RANDOMIZE)&!39%!
Save!it!for!a!rainy!day!38%! Use!it!to!cut!future!taxes!13%!
Spend!it!on!new!and!expanded!government!programs!!!7%!
NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%!
DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*!
REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&
-
!!! 112
!Question"D1!In!what!year!were!you!born?!!15%! 18f34!20%!
35f44!21%! 45f54!21%! 55f64!22%! 65+!!!1%!
REFUSED!!!Question"D2"GENDER!(BY&OBSERVATION,&BUT&ASK&EVERYONE)!Are!you!currently!employed,!a!student,!a!homemaker,!retired,!or!unemployed!and!looking!for!work?!
!(ASK&IF&EMPLOYED)!And!are!you!now!employed!fullftime!or!partftime?!!31%!
MALE/EMPLOYED!FULLfTIME!!!2%! MALE/EMPLOYED!PARTfTIME!!!1%!
MALE/HOMEMAKER!12%! MALE/RETIRED/STUDENT/UNEMPLOYED!!!*!
MALE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!25%!
FEMALE/EMPLOYED!FULLfTIME!!!7%! FEMALE/EMPLOYED!PARTfTIME!!!4%!
FEMALE/HOMEMAKER!17%! FEMALE/RETIRED/STUDENT/UNEMPLOYED!!!1%!
FEMALE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!"47%$ TOTAL$MALE$53%$
TOTAL$FEMALE$&
-
!!! 113
Question"D4"And!what!is!the!last!grade!you!completed!in!school?!(DO&NOT&READ&CHOICES)!
!!!1%! SOME!GRADE!SCHOOL!(GRADES!1f8)!!!2%!
SOME!HIGH!SCHOOL!(GRADES!9f11)!20%!
GRADUATED!HIGH!SCHOOL!(GRADE!12)!!!7%!
TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL!SCHOOL!22%! SOME!COLLEGE!!31%!
GRADUATED!COLLEGE!!16%! POSTfGRADUATE!!!1%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)&&23%$
HIGH$SCHOOL$OR$LESS$29%$ SOME$COLLEGE$47%$
COLLEGE+$!!Question"D5"Which!of!the!following!best!describes!your!household...!(ROTATE&TOP&TO&BOTTOM/BOTTOM&TO&TOP)!!!!3%!
UPPER!CLASS!18%! UPPER!MIDDLE!CLASS!51%! MIDDLE!CLASS!17%!
LOWER!MIDDLE!CLASS!!!7%! LOWER!CLASS!!!2%!
DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!
!21%$ UPPER/UPPER$MIDDLE$CLASS$51%$ MIDDLE$CLASS$$24%$
LOWER/LOWER$MIDDLE$CLASS$$!
-
!!! 114
Question"D6!In!politics!today,!do!you!usually!think!of!yourself!as!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!a!Republican,!a!Democrat,!an!Independent!or!something!else?!
!(IF&REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT,&ASK)!Would!you!call!yourself!a!STRONG!(Republican/Democrat)!or!a!NOTfSOfSTRONG!(Republican/Democrat)?!!(IF&INDEPENDENT/SOMETHING&ELSE/NO&PREFERENCE,&ASK)!Do!you!think!of!yourself!as!closer!to!the!Republican!Party!or!the!Democrat!Party?!!13%!
STRONG!REPUBLICAN!!!7%! NOTfSOfSTRONG!REPUBLICAN!14%!
LEAN!REPUBLICAN!25%! INDEPENDENT!/!SOMETHING!ELSE!!!9%!
LEAN!DEMOCRAT!11%! NOTfSOfSTRONG!DEMOCRAT!18%!
STRONG!DEMOCRAT!!!!2%! NOT!SURE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!
!34%$ TOTAL$REPUBLICAN$39%$
TOTAL$DEMOCRAT$!"Question"D7!Generally!speaking,!on!most!political!issues,!do!you!consider!yourself!to!be!(ROTATE&TOP&TO&BOTTOM,&BOTTOM&TO&TOP)!conservative,!moderate!or!liberal!on!most!issues?!!
!(IF&CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL,&ASK)!And!would!you!say!you!are!VERY!(CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL),!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL)?!
!15%! VERY!CONSERVATIVE!23%! SOMEWHAT!CONSERVATIVE!!34%!
MODERATE!12%! SOMEWHAT!LIBERAL!!12%! VERY!LIBERAL!!!!2%!
DON'T!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!38%$ TOTAL$CONSERVATIVE$24%$
TOTAL$LIBERAL$!!
-
!!! 115
Question"D8!And,!thinking!back!to!the!2012!presidential!election...Regardless!of!how!you!may!feel!today...for!which!of!the!following!candidates!did!you!vote!for!President...!(ROTATE&PUNCHES&112)!!Voted&
Total&45%! 39%! Mitt!Romney!53%! 46%! Barack!Obama!!!ff! !!!ff!
Gary!Johnson!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!3%! !!3%!
SOMEONE!ELSE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!*!
TOO!YOUNG!TO!VOTE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!2%!
DID!NOT!VOTE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!4%!
DONT!KNOW/DONT!RECALL!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!6%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!&Question"D9&How!would!you!describe!the!area!where!you!currently!live?!
!23%! A!city!35%! A!suburban!area!22%! A!small!town!18%!
A!rural!area!!!*! DON'T!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%!
REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!