The correct answer, based on interviews with veteran observers of the California political scene, as well as voters themselves, is (d) all of the above reports the Sacramento Bee.
“They are extremely leery of budget proposals coming out of Sacramento,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of governmental studies at Claremont McKenna College. “I think there is widespread sentiment that the whole (election) package is booby-trapped.”
The package of which Pitney speaks consists of a half-dozen proposals pieced together by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in February, in an effort to close a gaping hole in the state budget.
They include creation of a rainy day reserve fund (and the extension of $16 billion in tax hikes); a restoration of $9.3 billion in education funds; a loan of $5 billion from future lottery revenues; paying day-to-day state bills with money from funds currently restricted to mental health and children’s health programs; and banning pay raises for elected officials in years the state runs a deficit.
Should the ballot package fail, proponents have warned, the fragile budget-balancing mix of tax hikes and spending cuts agreed to in February will shatter, leaving lawmakers and the governor with a gargantuan mess to clean up before the start of the new fiscal year July 1.
But the Field surveys indicate voters are an unsympathetic lot.
The polls show that five of the six measures are dropping like paralyzed falcons: None garnered more than 40 percent approval from likely voters. The only one favored was the one that would prevent pay hikes for elected officials in down fiscal years.
One reason for all the negativity is anger.
“People feel unrepresented by their elected representatives,” said Mark Meckler, a 47-year-old Nevada County attorney. “My experience is that politicians have always had self-interest, but they’ve become more and more self-interested. … They do what’s good and expedient for them.”
Read more here: Field Poll: Angry voters are ‘tuned out’ in run-up to special election