Has your family hit the limit when it comes to new taxes?
That was a question in a recent poll by Brad Crone and Chris Sinclair, a Democratic and a Republican consultant who hope to sell subscriptions to their new polling service.
Alert reader bnartist questioned the question, noting that Crone had recently used it in a poll for the N.C. Association of Realtors, which opposed a local-option transfer tax.
Crone said the question came from a focus group in January.
"A guy was sitting there and he said, 'My family has hit the limit when it comes to new taxes,'" Crone recalled.
He said that he has since used the question in two statewide polls because it helps him judge "the tax factor" in people's thinking on an issue.
Also: Crone sent Dome the crosstabs on the Democratic gubernatorial race, which some readers had contested. Polling geeks, have at it!
Document(s):
NC Poll Xtabs Q8 Tables.pdf
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Re: Questioning the polling questions
I think Brad's explanation is legitimate. But I also wouldn't be too bothered by the results because in the question directly preceding it, 12d, the public says they are in favor of new taxes for road maintenance and construction.
I'm not surprised by that at all. In all the polling we've done at Public Policy Polling I can tell you that people don't like taxes. And they won't support new taxes in a poll question-- unless you give them context for the taxes. They are willing to support higher taxes and fees if they pay for schools, roads, health care, etc.
Justin