Newt Gingrich cites our new survey numbers in his commentary today:
The Winston Group made a series of important findings after running focus groups and a survey of 1,200 registered voters in January:
“1.) Inflation was the construct by which people viewed the economy and taxes. As a result, the most important personal outcome from tax policy was helps you deal with inflation and high prices in your household budget (mean 7.52 on a scale of 1-9 with 1 being not important at all and 9 extremely important), followed by creating economic growth (7.39) and greater ability to save for the future and retirement (7.38).
“2.) In terms of debt solutions, spending cuts and tax increases are not on equal footing. Voters want government spending to be addressed first, as they do not believe they should be penalized for the government’s overspending. As one voter in our focus groups said, ‘The government needs to look at its own spending. That’s the common denominator here. Every single year they are in a deficit. … It’s not the taxpayers’ burden anymore. We’re the ones giving them the money, and they are the ones not handling it correctly.’ Voters have not ruled out tax increases, but this is seen as a last resort rather than first option, creating an uphill battle for proponents of tax increases.
“3.) In a direct choice, government spending was overwhelmingly seen as a bigger problem (76%) than not enough revenue coming in from taxes (16%). This is the case across party (Republicans: 89-7; Independents 77-15; Democrats 63-27).”This reflects deep frustration with government mismanagement – and fear of huge deficits and national debt unlike anything we have seen in the last 30 years.
Read the full piece here.
