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Poll Results: The effect of budget cuts
February 24, 2003

Although they may disagree over priorities, most Minnesotans poll think Gov. Pawlenty has cut the right amount from the budget. (Source: Mason Dixon Polling & Research)

St. Paul, Minn. — The Mason-Dixon Minnesota Poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. February 19-20, 2003. A total of 625 registered Minnesota voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All stated they regularly vote in state elections. Those interviewed were selected by the random variation of the last four digits of telephone numbers. A cross-section of exchanges was utilized in order to ensure an accurate reflection of the state. Quotas were assigned to reflect voter turn-out by county. The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 4 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if the entire population were sampled. The margin for error is higher for any subgroup, such as a regional or gender grouping.

QUESTION: Gov.Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday outlined his plan for dealing with Minnesota's state budget problems. Based on what you know, which one of the following statements best reflects your view of Gov. Pawlenty's plans?

Option	Percentage
He's cutting spending too much and should consider raising some taxes.	27%
He's cutting spending the right amount but he's cutting the wrong things.	22%
He's about right in both the amount of spending cuts and his priorities.	39%
Not sure.	12%

QUESTION: If the state deals with its budget problems without raising state taxes, do you believe local property taxes will go up as a result?

Option	State	Men	Women
Yes	69%	70%	68%
No	19%	21%	17%
Not Sure	12%	9%	15%

QUESTION: Gov. Pawlenty has proposed using $1 billion in tobacco settlement money to help balance the state budget. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Option	State	Men	Women
Support	64%	76%	62%
Oppose	23%	27%	19%
Undecided	13%	7%	19%

QUESTION: Here is a list of several possible things that could happen. Do you think each would cause great pain, some pain, only a little pain, or be painless?

Option	Great Pain	Some Pain	A Little Pain	Painless	Not Sure
Less service in state parks	9%	38%	32%	17%	4%
Larger class size in K-12	45%	31%	9%	13%	2%
Less help with medical expenses for poor people	58%	25%	8%	6%	3%
Higher tuition at state colleges and universities	34%	39%	12%	10%	5%
Higher local property taxes	37%	45%	11%	5%	2%
Less law enforcement	48%	34%	9%	6%	3
Pay freeze for state employees	20%	33%	25%	18%	4%
Less state aid for cities and counties	27%	43%	18%	6%	6%

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