March 13, 2003 - Taxes, Economy Pound Rowland's Approval, Connecticut Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Satisfaction Is Lowest Ever Taxes and spending cuts have hammered Connecticut Gov. John Rowland's approval rating to a negative 33 - 57 percent, his lowest score ever, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. In an October 2, 2002, poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, Gov. Rowland had a 58 - 31 percent approval rating, the mirror image of today's negative rating. Only 4 percent of Connecticut voters are "very satisfied" with the way things are going in the state today, with 32 percent "somewhat satisfied." In contrast, 34 percent are "somewhat dissatisfied," and 29 percent are "very dissatisfied." "Gov. Rowland's handling of taxes and the budget, added to a weak economy, have caused his job approval to plummet 25 points to an all-time low and his first-ever negative score. The malaise that is seeping through Connecticut and the nation is taking its toll on Rowland and all elected leaders," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D. "Most voters think Rowland's budget favors the rich and is too heavy on spending cuts. Voters are worried that budget cuts will lead to higher property taxes, and most support raising taxes on millionaires." "Only 36 percent of voters are satisfied with they way things are going in Connecticut, a 31-point drop from the October poll. Voters haven't been this unhappy with life in the state since we started asking the question in 1997," Dr. Schwartz added. In an open-ended question, allowing for any answer, 33 percent of voters list the economy/jobs as the most important problem facing Connecticut, followed by 27 percent who list the state budget/budget cuts/spending. By a 59 - 36 percent margin, Connecticut voters say Rowland has strong leadership qualities, but voters split 45 - 43 percent on whether he is honest and trustworthy. And voters give a solid 57 - 37 percent 'no' when asked if Rowland cares about their needs and problems. Rowland gets negative ratings for his handling of key issues: 26 - 68 percent for handling the state budget; 38 - 50 percent for handling education; 27 - 68 percent for handling the economy and jobs. Connecticut voters split on how to balance the state budget, with 45 percent backing a tax increase, while 42 percent would rather cut spending. But 51 percent say Rowland's proposed spending cuts go "too far," while 28 percent say they are "about right," and 12 percent say they don't go "far enough." Rowland's budget-balancing proposals favor the rich, 59 percent of voters say, while 24 percent say they treat all people equally. These proposals are "unfair to people like you," 52 percent say, as 38 percent say they are "fair." By a huge 79 - 18 percent margin, Connecticut voters support raising the income tax for residents who earn more than $1 million per year. From March 5 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,056 Connecticut voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and the nation as a public service and for research. For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu and quicklinks TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling his job as Governor of Connecticut? App Dis DK/NA March 13, 2003 33% 57% 10% October 2, 2002 58 31 11 July 31, 2002 54 32 14 May 23, 2002 63 24 13 February 14, 2002 65 21 14 December 19, 2001 78 14 8 April 19, 2001 70 20 10 February 21, 2001 66 20 14 July 20, 2000 68 23 10 June 21, 2000 66 23 10 April 13, 2000 66 23 11 February 18, 2000 67 22 11 October 14, 1999 63 25 12 June 24, 1999 67 26 7 May 4, 1999 63 26 11 October 21, 1998 76 17 7 October 1, 1998 75 17 9 June 24, 1998 69 23 8 April 1, 1998 69 23 8 February 18, 1998 71 21 7 November 19, 1997 61 30 8 October 8, 1997 61 32 8 July 16, 1997 56 34 10 February 25, 1997 63 28 8 November 1, 1996 60 26 14 October 6, 1996 61 25 14 July 3, 1996 56 30 14 March 27, 1996 51 34 15 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Connecticut today? Very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very Smwht Smwht Very sat sat dis dis DK/NA March 13, 2003 4% 32% 34% 29% 1% October 2, 2002 10 57 24 8 1 July 31, 2002 7 58 26 8 1 May 23, 2002 9 62 21 7 1 February 14, 2002 11 63 21 5 1 December 19, 2001 14 63 18 3 1 February 22, 2001 13 60 20 6 1 October 21, 1998 21 62 14 3 - October 1, 1998 20 61 14 4 1 June 24, 1998 14 61 17 6 1 April 1, 1998 14 59 19 6 1 February 18, 1998 14 60 20 6 1 November 19, 1997 7 54 28 10 1 October 8, 1997 8 52 28 12 1 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling his job as Governor? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 33% 60% 18% 30% 44% 24% 20% Disapprove 57 32 75 57 48 66 71 DK/NA 10 8 8 13 9 11 9 10. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Connecticut today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Very satisfied 4% 5% 5% 4% 4% 4% 3% Smwht satisfied 32 52 22 28 37 27 22 Smwht dissatisfied 34 29 36 37 33 35 35 Very dissatisfied 29 12 37 31 23 34 40 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 2 1 - 11. What do you think is the most important problem facing Connecticut today? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Crime total 2% - 2% 2% 1% 2% - Crime/Violence general 1 - 1 1 1 1 - Drugs 1 - 1 1 - 1 - Budget/Spending total 27% 32% 24% 26% 28% 26% 25% Budget/Spending general 16 18 15 16 17 15 12 Budget cuts/Cuts in services 2 1 2 3 1 3 2 Budget deficits 6 9 5 5 6 6 8 Reducing size of govt./Gov spending 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 Budget other 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 Taxes total 15% 19% 12% 12% 17% 11% 15% Taxes general 13 17 11 11 15 11 13 State Income Tax 1 1 1 - 1 - 1 Taxes other 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 Economy total 33% 28% 35% 33% 33% 33% 32% Economy general 13 13 12 14 16 11 16 Unemployment/jobs 19 14 22 19 16 21 15 Cost of living 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 Education total 4% 3% 3% 5% 2% 5% 2% Education general 2 2 1 3 1 3 1 Funding education 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Education other 1 - 1 1 - 1 - Transportation/DMV Total 2% 3% 2% 1% 2% 2% 1% Highway traffic/ congestion 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 Transportation other 1 1 1 - 1 1 - Politicians total 6% 2% 4% 8% 6% 5% 10% Politicians general 1 - - 1 1 - 1 Political corruption 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 Governor Rowland 4 1 4 6 4 5 8 Unions 1 - - 1 1 - 1 Poverty/Homelessness 1 1 - 1 1 1 - Healthcare/Costs/ Insurance/HMO's 1 - 1 - - 1 1 Senior issues general 1 - 1 1 1 1 - War 1 - 2 2 - 2 2 Other 3 2 3 4 3 3 1 DK/NA 2 2 3 2 1 3 1 12. Would you say that John Rowland has strong leadership qualities or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 59% 80% 45% 58% 63% 55% 56% No 36 16 46 38 32 39 41 DK/NA 6 5 8 4 5 6 3 13. Would you say that John Rowland is honest and trustworthy or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 45% 73% 29% 43% 54% 39% 34% No 43 19 54 48 36 50 57 DK/NA 11 8 16 9 10 12 9 14. Would you say that John Rowland cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 37% 62% 23% 35% 47% 29% 24% No 57 32 70 59 46 65 73 DK/NA 6 5 7 6 7 6 3 15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling the state budget? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 26% 45% 15% 26% 37% 17% 20% Disapprove 68 47 80 69 58 76 76 DK/NA 6 9 5 5 5 7 4 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling education? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 38% 52% 28% 37% 46% 30% 27% Disapprove 50 37 61 48 41 57 59 DK/NA 13 11 12 15 12 13 14 17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling taxes? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 27% 43% 20% 25% 38% 18% 22% Disapprove 67 50 74 69 56 76 75 DK/NA 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling the economy and jobs? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 27% 52% 15% 22% 38% 18% 22% Disapprove 68 44 81 73 57 78 77 DK/NA 5 4 4 5 5 4 2 19. Would you describe the state of Connecticut's economy these days as: Excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Excellent 1% 2% 1% - 2% - 3% Good 22 34 13 22 25 19 11 Not so good 50 47 55 49 48 52 54 Poor 26 14 31 29 24 28 31 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 20. During the next 12 months, do you think the economic conditions in Connecticut will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Get better 20% 34% 13% 18% 25% 16% 13% Get worse 30 19 40 27 22 36 32 Stay the same 45 43 41 49 49 42 50 DK/NA 5 4 6 5 4 7 4 21. Would you say that you are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Better off 27% 35% 24% 27% 32% 24% 27% Worse off 50 33 60 50 48 51 54 SAME(VOL) 22 32 16 22 19 24 18 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 - 22. How serious do you think Connecticut's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Very serious 60% 47% 64% 63% 57% 62% 63% Smwht serious 35 46 28 36 37 34 30 Not too serious 4 4 6 1 5 3 5 Not at all serious - 1 1 - 1 - 1 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 23. To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Raising taxes 45% 32% 57% 43% 39% 50% 58% Cutting programs/ services 42 61 30 42 52 35 29 DK/NA 13 7 13 15 9 15 13 24. How much have you heard or read about Governor Rowland's proposals to balance Connecticut's budget next year-- a lot, some or not much? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds A lot 25% 24% 22% 27% 28% 22% 26% Some 48 52 41 48 50 46 49 Not much 26 23 35 24 21 31 24 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 25. What do you think about the cuts in state services that Governor Rowland has proposed in order to balance the state's budget next year? Do you think Rowland's proposed cuts in state services go too far, not far enough or are they about right? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Go too far 51% 32% 63% 53% 40% 61% 67% Not far enough 12 14 12 11 16 10 7 About right 28 47 18 28 39 20 23 DK/NA 8 7 7 8 5 10 3 26. What do you think about the tax increases that Governor Rowland has proposed in order to balance the state's budget next year? Do you think Governor Rowland's proposed tax increases go too far, not far enough or are they about right? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Go too far 39% 36% 42% 38% 34% 42% 38% Not far enough 15 8 19 15 15 15 14 About right 35 46 28 35 43 28 38 DK/NA 11 10 11 11 7 15 9 27. Do you think Governor Rowland's proposals to balance the state budget next year are fair or unfair to people like you? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Fair 38% 61% 27% 36% 50% 29% 33% Unfair 52 33 63 53 43 59 62 DK/NA 10 7 10 11 7 12 6 28. Do you think Governor Rowland's proposals to balance the state budget next year favor the rich, favor the middle class, favor the poor, or treat all people equally? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Favor the rich 59% 33% 76% 61% 49% 68% 67% Favor the middle class 4 7 4 4 4 5 4 Favor the poor 2 5 - 2 3 1 3 Treat people equally 24 45 11 22 33 16 19 DK/NA 10 11 9 11 10 11 7 29. To help balance the state budget, would you support or oppose raising the income tax for state residents who earn more than a million dollars? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Support 79% 63% 89% 82% 74% 83% 89% Oppose 18 34 10 16 23 15 10 DK/NA 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 30. How worried are you that Governor Rowland's proposed spending cuts would cause an increase in local property taxes? Very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Very worried 32% 28% 37% 30% 31% 33% 32% Somewhat worried 42 36 41 48 41 44 43 Not too worried 17 26 15 13 18 15 17 Not worried at all 7 7 5 7 9 5 8 DK/NA 2 3 2 2 2 3 -
