Progress Illinois

The folks at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute have had a busy week. After unveiling Monday an interesting statewide poll on campaign finance reform, the organization turned its attention today to their findings on the state budget. For proponents of tax reform, the public opinion results weren't terribly encouraging. A whopping 56.5 percent of respondents said that "budget problems can be solved by cutting waste and inefficiency" while only 27.3 percent think "a combination of budget cuts and revenue increases will be needed to solve the problem." And 65.5 percent opposed raising the income tax from 3 to 4.5 percent.

But when asked where government is bloated, the 800 registered voters surveyed couldn't provide any specifics. Eighty-seven percent opposed K-12 education cuts, 84 percent said cuts to state police and prisons should be avoided, and 80 percent said "programs for poor people" should be spared. In other words, voters across the state are collectively (and unknowingly) breaking the Civic Fed rule. Chris Leonard, the poll's supervisor, adds some of his own insight:

A huge underlying problem lawmakers face is the folk wisdom that the state government is so full of massive waste and fraud that, if we could only find the will to cut them, such a problem would make our fiscal problems disappear. While we could continue to find more things to trim, the size of the deficit looms well beyond what cutting waste alone can solve.

"Folk wisdom" is a good word to describe this misinformed perspective, which manifests itself in editorial boards and in gubernatorial ads. "[I]t’s an utter, complete fantasy," remarked Capitol Fax's Rich Miller this morning, "to believe there is $12 billion in waste and inefficiency within state expenditures of about $30 billion."  Indeed, the state has already cut spending to the bone. We dramatically underfund both K-12 and higher education. Our tax system is unfair and outdated. Medical providers are routinely stiffed. Payments to pension funds are consistently kicked down the road. And we're dealing with the aftermath of the worst recession in a half-century. At the margins, some programs can certainly be improved or eliminated. But to balance the budget, pay off our debt obligations,  and fund core services adequately, there is no question that new revenue is needed.

There were some glimmers of hope in the polling data. Over 44 percent want to see the state expand the sales tax to include services, up 16 percentage points in just one year. Meanwhile, the Chicago parking meter debacle may have caused Illinoisans of all stripes to rethink the wisdom of major asset sales. While 37.8 percent favored selling or leasing state assets last year, support dipped to 25.9 percent in 2009. And the myth of the "gold-plated pensions" has not been persuasive. A majority of those surveyed (53.4 percent) said they "opposed cuts in state spending on pension benefits for state workers' retirement."

Unfortunately, the poll did not ask voters to assess public opinion regarding HB 174, the Senate Democrats' plan to raise revenue and balance the budget.  That particular proposal would expand the sales tax to services, hike income taxes to 5 percent, while also providing tax relief to low-income households, property tax relief for everyone, and a long-term investment in public education.  The Senate passed it back in May and it currently has the support of the Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC), which represents a massive collection of unions and progressive organizations.  In a statement today, the RBC used the Institute poll to further their case for tax reform:

Our coalition's 150-plus partners are committed to a responsible budget. That means adequate revenue to prevent harmful cuts to vital services, to save jobs and pay the state's bills. This poll makes clear that Illinois residents reject cuts to essential services like education, health care, public safety and care for the most vulnerable. There is growing acknowledgment of the need for more revenue, and more support for specific tax increases that we know are necessary.

It's our role as community leaders to keep educating the public about the need for a responsible budget. The current budget crisis is already forcing $1 billion of exactly the kind of cuts to basic services that voters overwhelmingly reject. We urge lawmakers to be honest about the alternative: Comprehensive tax reform that raises adequate revenue in a fair way to prevent such cuts.

The Institute's findings certainly point to a need for more education of the public on this issue.  They also underscore a crucial point:  It will take intense political courage from state lawmakers to fix the mess they've helped create. And they shouldn't be deterred. The public's skepticism is totally reasonable.  Not only are the intricacies of the state budget confusing, but state government has broken our trust far too many times in the past decade. Elected officials, on the other hand, should be well aware of the risks substantial cuts to popular programs pose.  It's their duty to ensure those services aren't eviscerated.