Source:
WPRIMarch 6, 2011
HIGHLY POLARIZED WISCONSINITES SPLIT OVER WALKER PLAN
Substantial support expressed for compromise
Wisconsinites are deeply divided over Gov. Scott Walker’s plans regarding public employee benefits, wages and unions, according to a Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll showing 51 percent somewhat or strongly opposed and 46 percent somewhat or strongly in favor.
While support for Walker in general has held fairly steady in comparison to last November, in the meantime, opposition to him has solidified and increased. A slight majority of the public disapproves of the actions taken by Senate Democrats to prevent passage of the budget repair bill and overwhelming numbers want public employees to contribute more to their pensions. The public has a favorable opinion of public employee unions, including teachers unions. Most want Walker to compromise with Democrats and union leaders.
The poll of 603 Wisconsinites was conducted between Feb. 27 and March 1, the day of Walker’s budget address, and has a margin of error of 4 percent. The survey of randomly selected adults included cell phone-users and was directed by Ken Goldstein, a UW-Madison political science professor on leave who is also the co-founder and director of the Big Ten Battleground Poll. It conforms in full with the disclosure requirements of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Code of Professional Ethics and Practice and the AAPOR Transparency Initiative.
Asked what they think the top priority of the governor and the legislature should be, 27 percent said balancing the budget, one percent higher than said improving the state’s economy and protecting jobs. In the November, 2010 WPRI poll, 49 percent of the respondents said that state government’s top priority should be jobs and the economy.
Read more:
http://www.wpri.org/polls/March2011/poll0311.html