Contact: Dan Levitan
According to a poll conducted by Kiley & Company, and commissioned by the Working Families Party, the vast majority of New Yorkers are in strong opposition to the planned cuts by Gov. David Paterson and are in strong support of a solution to the State’s budget crisis that uses a combination of both some spending cuts with some tax increases on New Yorkers who make more than $200,000 a year.
“This poll shows that New Yorkers are speaking loud and clear, and Governor Paterson and Albany legislators would do well to listen: they do not want the solution to this budget crisis to just be a giant swing of the axe,” said Dan Cantor, Executive Director of the Working Families Party. “It’s clear that New Yorkers are nearly united behind a solution that combines prudent spending cuts with sound tax increases on those that make over $200,000 that would both restore fairness to the tax system and help raise the necessary revenue to close this budget gap.”
The poll showed that New Yorkers were strongly resistant to the proposed massive cuts to healthcare, education programs, and the safety net. When asked whether the state should “seriously consider” a list of budget proposals in order to close the budget gap, or should “definitely not consider taking that step,” between 60% and 75% of all voters said Albany should “definitely not” consider any of the following steps:
· Reducing state funding for Medicaid and other health care services by $1.7 billion over the next year and a half (65%)
· Cutting state aid to public schools by $1.4 billion over the next year and a half (75%).
According to a memo prepared by Kiley & Co. analyst Matthew Shelter, New York voters express widespread support for increasing income tax rates on upper-income households as a way to help avoid the most drastic proposed spending cuts. By a margin of 75% to 23%, voters say they favor “increasing personal income tax rates on households making more than $200,000 a year, as a way to help close the state’s budget gap.”
The proposed increase enjoys widespread support throughout the state; 78% of New York City voters; 67% of Suburban voters; 87% of Upstate East and 70% of Upstate West voters favor increasing tax rates on upper-income households. A majority of Democrats (84%), independents (75%) and Republicans (63%) also back the proposal.
By a margin of 71% to 26%, voters side with the “combination” approach to the crisis rather than the “spending cuts alone” approach.
“We have the facts and the people on our side. So we will campaign aggressively to convince the legislature to follow the principles of shared sacrifice and pass a sensible solution to the budget crisis that makes everyone pay their fair share,” said Cantor.
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