A majority of Americans would prefer more federal funding for
education over President Bush’s proposed $550 billion tax
cut, according to a recent University of California, Berkeley
study.
In separate questions, respondents said they would prefer to
either fund K-12 schools or prevent tuition increases at public
schools and universities instead.
Support for education was strongest among Democrats, while a
slight majority of Republicans said they would prefer the full tax
cut.
“The most surprising thing was that a majority of
Americans across party lines seem to favor a smaller tax cut and
more support to states for education,” said Emlei Kuboyama,
the survey’s co-director.
Kuboyama and her colleagues commissioned Hart Research
Associates, a Washington D.C.-based public opinion organization, to
poll 1003 adults throughout the United States.
It claims to be the first poll weighing how people balance
Bush’s tax cut with shrinking education budgets nationwide.
Gov. Gray Davis proposed around $2 billion in education cuts in his
May Revise a week ago as part of a solution for the state’s
$38 billion deficit.
Over two-thirds of respondents said they would prefer “a
smaller federal tax cut and increased aid to states to help
maintain public schools” instead of the $550 billion tax cut
Bush proposed.
The tax package Congress approved Thursday had a similar
balance, cutting taxes by $330 billion while providing $20 billion
in aid for various states and local programs.
Pete Sepp, a press aide for the National Taxpayers Association,
said the question biased respondents against the tax cut.
“The question is leading people to believe that if they
don’t support a smaller tax cut, funding will fall through
the floor,” Sepp said.
He said other questions are misleading because they characterize
Bush’s proposal as a large tax cut. Sepp said it is a modest
cut, and much smaller than cuts by previous presidents.
The survey also indicates 64 percent of respondents would prefer
a
“smaller federal tax cut and more money to support state
universities to help reduce the need to raise tuitions.”
While the state government has provided money to prevent student
fee increases for the past eight years, the federal government has
never provided money for this purpose, according to UC press aide
Brad Hayward.
“The main way the federal government addresses these
issues is through financial aid,” Hayward said.
To make up for a lack of funding from the state and federal
government, Davis has also proposed a variety of tax increases for
next year.
Larry McCarthy, president of the California Taxpayers
Association, said there is no need for these taxes.
“There is more than enough money to fund quality public
schools for children,” McCarthy said.