Rep. Harkins: Q-Poll shows Strong Support for Spending Cuts – Not Tax Hikes – to Balance Budget

By a whopping 67 percent margin, citizens responding to the poll said spending cuts - not tax increases - should be used to balance the budget and eliminate a projected $1.35 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30th and to wipe out an estimated $8 billion deficit over the next two years, said Representative Harkins, R-Stratford.

The Quinnipiac Poll results sharply contradicted the findings in an earlier poll commissioned and paid for by state government employee unions - whose salaries and benefits are funded with taxpayer dollars and who want state taxes increased to eliminate the deficit.

“The Quinnipiac University Poll is widely respected for its integrity and accuracy,” Representative Harkins said. “The recent Q-poll on how the state budget deficit should be addressed demonstrates conclusively that the people of Connecticut do not want their taxes raised during a major recession. That is precisely the position Republican legislators like myself have been taking since last spring, when we first called on the state legislature to put prudent spending reductions in place to eliminate a projected deficit that is now expected to amount to $1.35 billion by the time the fiscal year ends June 30th.”

The poll shows Democrats to be almost evenly divided on the issue, with 41 percent favoring tax increases and 47 percent supporting spending cuts. The data shows 89 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of unaffiliated voters support spending cuts to eliminate the deficit. In addition, nearly 70 percent of those polled said proposed budget cuts, including elimination of two dozen state agencies, are either appropriate or do not go far enough, Representative Harkins said.

“The state employee unions are adamantly opposed to spending reductions that would threaten their salaries and benefits. Because the state legislature’s majority Democrats are closely allied with those unions, they are highly unlikely to cross them by agreeing to major reductions in state spending to address the deficit - which puts them completely at odds with the majority of Connecticut residents who neither work for the state nor receive the gold-plated benefits enjoyed by unionized state government employees,” Representative Harkins said.

“At a time when many middle class families in our state are worried about losing their jobs and their homes, the state legislature should not even be considering a major tax increase to balance the budget. The Q-poll findings accurately reflect the concern most Connecticut residents feel about their economic future,” Representative Harkins said.

The Q-Poll also found that:

• At least 82 percent of respondents say now is the time to shrink state government, a proposal Republican legislators have supported for months.
• 59 percent believe the state government employee workforce should be decreased even if it means layoffs or a reduction in services;
• 61 percent said no to tax increases, compared to 36 percent who said some taxes hikes should be considered.