Field Poll Finds Wide Opposition to Budget Cuts for Health Care
A majority of Californians would like to address the state budget deficit with spending cuts rather than tax increases, but voters do not want to cut funds from health care or other social services, according to a new Field Poll, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sixty-three percent of voters said they would like to see the deficit closed mostly by spending cuts, but 81% of those surveyed also said they do not believe the budget crisis will be solved without some sort of tax increase (Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/10).
A majority of voters opposed cuts to all 13 program areas in the poll, with 77% opposing cuts to health care and 80% opposing cuts to education. Fewer than one in 10 respondents said they would be most amenable to funding cuts for public schools, higher education or health care.
When asked which tax increases they would prefer to fund health services, 75% said tobacco or alcohol taxes, while almost 70% of voters said they favored raising taxes for high-income residents (Zapler, San Jose Mercury News, 6/10).
The poll surveyed 1,052 registered voters from May 17 to 26. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/10).