A recent AP poll is being touted as proof that Americans want deficit reduction over tax cuts. Of course, to liberals “deficit reduction” is just a euphemism for increasing taxes.
But polls are notoriously open to respondee manipulation, depending on who, what, when, where and how the question is asked. The more important indicator of public opinion is how people voted.
In 2002, for example, voters in 41 states decided the fate of 201 initiatives or amendments to state constitutions, according to the Council on State Governments.
- In 21 of these, voters rejected higher taxes, and approved them in 10.
- If a 2-to-1 margin isn’t convincing enough, consider that of the 10 “pro-tax” votes, six involved giving tax breaks to narrow interest groups, such as oil rigs in Louisiana, racing vehicles in Nebraska, wildlife groups with land in North Dakota and commercial fisherman in Georgia.
This general opposition to broad-based tax hikes can also be seen in several regional votes.
Voters in Northern Virginia and Hampton, Va., rejected a penny increase in the sales tax to fund road improvements. And, statewide, Washington voters killed two tax hikes – on gasoline and business to fund unemployment compensation, by nearly 2-to-1 margins.
But the best story of all occurred in Seattle. By a similar margin, the enlightened voters there rejected a 10-cents-a-cup tax on specialty coffee in 2003, designed to fund day-care.
Oh sure, they’re for the children, but not when it comes to taxing your half-caf, half-decaf latte with two squirts of syrup.
So the next time you see a poll suggesting that the people really like higher taxes, remember the demise of the coffee tax in Starbucks-land.
For no matter how much the media and other fans of big government promote a bigger tax burden, when the people have a chance to vote on it, they usually say “NO!”