Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster
Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster
By Michael C. Carnuccio Guest Columnist In the 1950s, famed political scientist David Easton defined politics as the authoritative allocation of values in society. When I lectured at Oklahoma State University, my students preferred “who gets what, when and how.” The point is, while social issues will always dominate election-year headlines, the legislative process is first and foremost about appropriations. In Tulsa last fall, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels incorporated yours truly into a discussion about the ethical approach to this responsibility. “Start with the premise that government should never take a dollar from a free
Read More »According to a poll taken by Sooner Poll in late November/early December, Oklahomans favor a flat tax over the current state personal income tax system. Nearly sixty percent of likely voters polled said they preferred just one marginal rate. Voters registered Republican preferred simplifying the system over those registered Democrat and Independent. The state income tax has been at the forefront of Governor Fallin and the Oklahoma Republican legislature agenda for the upcoming 2012 session. They want to eliminate the state income tax over an extended period of time- something like 10 years. They claim
Read More »Most likely Oklahoma voters say the current tax system is unfair and just over half say they would prefer a flat tax system with one marginal rate, according to a SoonerPoll survey. When asked if the income tax system currently used by the state and federal government is fair or unfair, 59 percent of respondents said unfair and 34.2 percent said fair. A 50.4 percent majority prefer a tax system that imposes the same tax rate on all taxpayers by taking the same percentage of income from everyone regardless of how much an individual earns
Read More »A majority of likely Oklahoma voters do not feel they are receiving a good return on their investment of $8,400 per student a year in education spending. Poll respondents were asked, “According to official state data, education spending in Oklahoma is approximately $8,400 per student. Are taxpayers getting a good return on their investment of $8,400 per student per year?” Results reveal that 62.4 percent of respondents said no, while just 22.9 percent said yes. Another 14.8 percent of respondents had no opinion. “It’s a pretty sobering indictment of the status quo,” said Brandon Dutcher,
Read More »In a recent poll conducted by SoonerPoll, 53 percent of likely Oklahoma voters indicated that they would support a proposal to levy a $50 fee on Medicaid enrollees that smoke. The poll also revealed that 38.3 percent of likely Oklahoma voters polled would oppose such a proposal, while 8.7 percent had no opinion. Jason Sutton, Health Care Policy Analyst at the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs, said these results show that Oklahomans recognize that unhealthy behaviors drive health costs to unsustainable limits. “What Oklahomans are saying is that citizens who lead an unhealthy lifestyle in
Read More »A SoonerPoll conducted in May reveals that 54.4 percent of likely Oklahoma voters think the current tax burden is too high. By comparison, 32.6 percent of respondents said they think the tax burden is about right and only 3.3 percent of respondents said the tax burden is too low. Respondents were read the following question: “According to the Tax Foundation, the average Oklahoman worked from January 1 until April 2, 2011 to earn enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. That’s a total tax burden of roughly
Read More »According to a recent SoonerPoll, 70.3 percent of likely Oklahoma voters believe that the current welfare system discourages marriage and should be changed. By comparison, 20.6 percent of respondents said the system does not need to be changed and 9 percent had no opinion. Respondents were asked the following question: “Oftentimes, under Oklahoma’s current welfare system, a young woman can receive more financial benefits by remaining single than by marrying the father of her children. Other times, a woman who is already married, can receive more financial benefits by separating from or divorcing her husband
Read More »A recent study conducted by SoonerPoll found that a majority of Oklahoma’s likely voters would prefer the state’s public universities to cut spending if less revenue is available. The survey asked respondents to choose between the following options in the event of a revenue shortage: raise tuition; increase class size; delay new facilities; freeze faculty pay; reduce administrative overhead; require professors to teach more students and do less research; or raise taxes. ‘Reduce administrative overhead’ was the top response with support from 37.8 percent of respondents, followed by ‘delay new facilities’ with 12.8 percent. ‘Freeze
Read More »As this year’s Oklahoma Home Educators’ Capitol Day approaches, a new SoonerPoll finds that a majority of Oklahomans, 55.7 percent, know someone who currently home schools their children. The poll found that only 42.5 percent of respondents do not know anyone who prefers to educate their children at home while 1.8 percent of respondents are unsure. Respondents were asked: ’Many parents prefer to educate their children at home instead of sending them to school. Do you know of anyone that currently home-schools their child?’ An Education Next-Harvard PEPG survey conducted last year asked a similarly worded question
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Various reports of national poll results:
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Jeannie Weslery says: Gov, Fallen with not have a high approve if she continues to support Equine Slaughter. She and the r...
Loretta Cypress says: Being a young and diverse country means we do not yet share a common view on divisive social issues ...
admin says: Judith, keep in mind that this particular poll was conducted more than a year ago. While the most r...
