!! ! ! ! ! !!! !!!!!!!!!!! ! ! !! ! !

!

! ! !!! ! !MEDIA!ADVISORY!

!American!Experiments!State%of%Prosperity!poll!will!!reveal!areas!of!surprising!bipartisan!consensus!!

!Saint!Paul,!MN!!Center!of!the!American!Experiment!will!release!the!results!of!its!first!State%of%Prosperity!survey!on!Friday,!May!8.!!The!survey!was!conducted!by!Rob!Autry,!founder!of!CharlestonBbased!Meeting!Street!Research.!Autry!is!one!of!Americas!premier!pollsters.!Before!founding!Meeting!Street,!he!was!a!partner!at!Public!Opinion!Strategies.!His!firm!interviewed!500!registered!voters!statewide!by!telephone!(30!percent!by!cell!phone)!between!April!26B28.!It!has!a!margin!of!error!of!plus!or!minus!4.38!percent.!!Note:!Reporters/editors!may!receive!an!embargoed!(6!a.m.!Friday,!May!8)!copy!of!the!survey!by!emailing!tmason@masonBpublicaffairs.com.!!!Rob!Autry!is!available!for!interviews.!!!

!

# # #

May!7,!2015! Contact:! Tom!Mason,!Mason!Public!Affairs!612B664B0570!651B233B4230!(cell)!tmason@masonBpublicaffairs.com!!

Building a Culture of Prosperity

The State of Prosperity survey

A SURPRISING CONSENSUSMinnesotans agree on an unexpected number of legislative issuesBut there is a growing split between voters in the metro and non-metro regions

By Rob Autry, founder, Meeting Street Research

s Minnesotas legislators proceed through the final days of their 2015

session, Minnesotans appear to be sur-prisingly unified on issues related to the budget, transportation, health care, and state pensions, perhaps explained by a strong perception of the states improving economy.

These are some of the findings of a survey conducted by my firm, Meeting Street Research, on behalf of Center of the American Experiment. We inter-viewed 500 registered voters statewide by telephone (30 percent by cell phone) between April 26-28. This survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percent.

Among other things, our State of Prosperity survey revealed the following results:

The Surplus: Minnesotans staunch-ly oppose using the proceeds of the states expected $1.9 billion budget surplus to fund new or expand exist-ing government programs. Only 13 percent favor such spending. Voters would rather see the surplus saved for a rainy day (39 percent) and used to cut future taxes (38 percent).

Transportation: A whopping 94 percent of Minnesotans favor public spending on modernizing and ex-panding aging roads, highways, and bridges. They overwhelmingly favor funding improvements through use of existing sales tax revenue (65 percent) over raising the gas tax (29 percent).

Health Care: When asked how best to contain the rising costs of health care, Minnesotans dramatically favor increased competition in health insur-ance (59 percent) over single-payer health care in which all Americans would get their health insurance from one health plan that is financed by taxes (35 percent).

Public Pensions: A majority (51 percent) of Minnesotans think that the financial solvency of the states system of public pensions poses a potential problem. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) think that public employees should transition to a kind of 401(k)-style pension system that is commonly used by private sector employers.

A Tale of Two Minnesotas?

Overall, Minnesotans exhibit a sense of optimism about their states overall prospects. Fifty-eight percent of voters say things in the state are heading in the right direction, while 36 percent believe were off on the wrong track. Thats a startling reversal of their feelings about the country as a whole (34 percent right direction, 57 percent wrong track).

But, it is important to emphasize that

Building a Culture of Prosperity

About the pollsterRob Autry, founder of Meeting Street Research, is one of the nations lead-ing pollsters and research strategists. The Meeting Street Research team has 25 years of combined public opin-ion research experience and 2,000 research projects under its belt.

Before founding Meeting Street, Autry was a partner at Public Opinion Strategies.

1 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org

A

Editors Note: Geographic definitions

When this analysis refers to Minneapolis-St. Paul, it means Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Collar counties are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott, Washington, and Wright. A reference to the Twin Cities or metro combines Minneapolis-St. Paul and the collar counties.

there is a distinct difference between the prospective enthusiasm of residents in the Twin Cities and its suburbs (+26 percent right direction), and the distinctively less upbeat attitudes of people who live in Greater Minnesota (+15 percent right

direction). That attitude endures in their differing

attitudes about the economy. Minneso-tans believe their states economy has improved in the last year (46 percent gotten better, 10 percent gotten worse).

They also perceive that things are better in Minnesota than in the nation overall (61 percent better, 31 percent worse). But again, this positive sentiment is notice-ably higher among metro residents. While 60 percent of residents of the Twin Cities believe that the economy has improved in the past year, only 36 percent of Greater Minnesota agreesa significant drop off.

Whats more, the fact that 61 percent of Minnesotans declare that their states economy is better than other regions in the country is similarly boosted by the Twin Cities (71 percent) and suburbs (61 percent). Residents of Greater Minnesota demonstrate less economic optimism: 49 percent in the northeast, 52 percent in the south, and 58 percent in the west and northwest.

It is also revealing that many Minneso-tans believe that economic prosperity has not extended to their personal circum-stances. Only 20 percent of Minnesotans believe that their personal financial situa-tion has gotten better in the past year; 16 percent believe it has gotten worse. This is an important and significant distinction.

Dont Spend the Surplus

As the state legislature expects the state to receive the proceeds of a $1.9 billion budget surplus, Minnesotans are unambiguousand bipartisanin expressing their opposition to spend-ing it on new or expanded programs. When asked to choose just one of three optionssave it for a rainy day, use it to cut future taxes, or spend it on new or expanded government programs just 13 percent opted for new spending. The other options were split evenly: 39 percent rainy day, 38 percent future taxes. A plurality of Independents (41 percent) and a majority of Republicans (55 percent) prefer future tax cuts, while more Democrats want to save for a rainy day (43 percent). In fact, just one out of four Democrats (26 percent) believe we should spend the surplus on creating or expanding government programs.

www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 2

On top of this, there was deep bipar-tisan support (64 percent) for the notion of limiting how much lawmakers can increase state spending, such as limiting the growth in spending to the growth in inflation or personal income (36 percent strong support, 27 percent somewhat support). This idea enjoyed the broad-est support of all the issues we tested, cutting across all demographics: 76 percent from Republicans, 65 percent from Independents, and 53 percent from Democrats.

Peter Nelson, the Centers director of policy, is an expert on legislative budgeting in Minnesota. He says, Min-nesotans expect lawmakers to spend tax

dollars responsibly and so its not too surprising that people across the partisan divide support setting reasonable limits on spending. A number of traditionally Democratic states impose such limits, such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington.

Fix the Roads with Existing Funding

Minnesotans were similarly unequiv-ocal about transportation issues. When presented with a variety of transporta-tion-related policy initiatives, from roads to transit, they pretty much selected all of the above. They overwhelmingly (94 percent!) support the priority of extend-ing and modernizing Minnesotas aging roads, highways, and bridges. To find 94 percent support of almost anything is a rare result in polling. And while there is

high (65 percent to 29 percent) support for making roads a priority over mass transit projects like light rail, there re-mained 65 percent support for bus rapid transit, but also 61 percent for expanding light rail projects.

Attorney Fritz Knaak, a former state senator and coauthor of the chapter on transportation in the Centers Minnesota Policy Blueprint, said the overwhelming support for prioritizing transportation funding is the key takeaway from this, particularly when coupled with such a consistent opposition to gas tax funding.Its clear that Minnesotans expect their leaders to find the means within the current revenue sources to get the job done. The Center has offered possible solutions and the House, in particular, has responded with a number of excel-lent proposals that do just this.

At the same time, Minnesotans were just as explicit about how they wanted to fund the states transportation projects. When asked to choose between raising the gas tax or choosing instead to rely on the existing sales taxes on automo-bile-related expenses, they reject the gas

tax by more than two-to-one (65 percent to 29 percent). This is telling data. Re-publicans overwhelmingly reject the gas tax (79 percent to 14 percent), but so did Independents (68 percent to 24 percent). Democrats narrowly support the gas tax (50 percent to 45 percent).

Reducing the Cost of Health Care

We tried to cut through the clutter and increasing confusion about health care by using one question to probe possible solutions to the rising costs of health care in Minnesota. We asked which ONE thematic solution will better contain those costs: a single-payer health care system in which all Americans get their health insurance from one health plan that is financed by taxes OR a health insurance market in which people use employer contributions to choose their own health plan?

The result: competition, by a wide margin, 59 percent to 35 percent.

Says Peter Nelson: Various laws on the books stifle value-enhancing competition in health care markets, but

Building a Culture of Prosperity

3 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org

Minnesotans oppose spending the surplus on new or expanded programs.

its not always clear whether the public understands this fact. Its good to see that Minnesotans appreciate how com-petition can improve health care, just as it improves so many other things in our daily lives, like phones, cars and the

restaurants we frequent.Opinions about health care continue to

cut by party. Republicans favor com-petition 82 percent to 13 percent, and Democrats show a little more dissent by favoring single payer 57 percent to 41

percent. Independent voters, who consti-tute about 25 percent of the Minnesota electorate, widely prefer competition, 56 percent to 32 percent.

Answers to this question also yielded dramatic differences by region. Voters in the Twin Cities are split on whats best to contain costs (48 percent increased competition in the marketplace, 44 percent single-payer system). But, voter preference for increased competition in the marketplace grows the farther you get from the city center. Those who re-side in the collar counties back increased

competition over a single-payer system by a 59 percent to 35 percent margin, while voters in the south (61 percent competition, 33 percent single payer), west/northwest (66 percent, 29 percent), and northeast regions (74 percent, 24 percent) of the state are even more strongly supportive of this solution.

Reform Public PensionsDespite the back-burner visibility

of the financial instability of pension plans for Minnesotas state and local government employees, almost half of Minnesotans consider it a problem (17 percent serious, 34 percent somewhat serious). The fact that more than 50 percent of the states residents consider something a problem is significant, especially, in this case, when 22 percent of respondents admit they dont yet know enough about the issue.

When you present the option to tran-sition public employees to a 401(k)-

www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 4

Minnesotans overwhelmingly reject the gas tax (65 percent to 29 percent)

style plan, similar to private sector employees, nearly two-thirds of Minne-sotans give it support (64 percent to 26 percent). And this is heavily bipartisan. Republicans support it 82 percent to 13 percent, Independents support it 61 percent to 23 percent, and Democrats support it 50 percent to 39 percent. Another interesting segment of support can be found by age. Men aged 18-54 support the 401(k) option 64 percent to 26 percent, while women aged 18-54 percent support it 69 percent to 23 percent.

Bringing the public sector into line with the private sector has many virtues, says Kim Crocket, executive vice president of Center of the Amer-ican Experiment and a long-time key advocate of pension reform. Besides offering fully funded, mobile retirement assets to young employees, it ends the unsound practice of taking on new, unfunded liabilities that are guaranteed by taxpayers. This makes it more likely that we can fully honor the promises we have already made, but not ful-ly funded, to retirees and long-time employees. It also takes the backroom politics out of retirement savings and investments.

The Met Council The Great Unknown

For an organization that exercises substantial regional power and influ-

ence, opinions about the Metropolitan Council are surprisingly soft. Most Minnesotans, even those who live in the Met Councils seven-county region, dont really have firm opinions about it. Among its constituents, 24 percent view

it favorably, 22 percent view it unfavor-ably, and 33 percent have never heard of it. These can only be considered underwhelming image numbers. For the record, outside of its jurisdiction, only 25 percent have heard of it (12 percent

Building a Culture of Prosperity

5 The State of Prosperity survey www.americanexperiment.org

More than 50 percent view the financial instability of public pensions as a problem.

positive, 13 percent negative).The Met Councils support is highly

partisan: Republicans view it negatively (32 percent to 12 percent), Democrats view it positively (28 percent to 8 percent) and Independents are split (12 percent positive, 14 percent negative).

After providing basic information about the Met Council, we tested basic concepts about its new long-term plan for its region. We received mixed and contradictory results.

For me, the big takeaway with our Met Council questions is that opinions about the council and its plans are largely unformed; among those that do have opinions, they are very soft. Over 50 percent have either never heard of Met Council or have no opinion about the it. There are different ways to interpret this data, but I conclude that Minnesotans have not received sufficient information about the Met Councils plans.

A Split on Renewable Energy

Minnesotans expressed moderate support for requiring electric utilities to generate electricity from renewable resources, even if it means residents and businesses pay higher electrical prices. While the intensity on either side of the issue is a wash26 percent of Minneso-tans strongly support the idea, 25 percent strongly oppose itoverall, 54 percent either support it strongly or somewhat.

Education MattersMinnesotans choose education as their legislative priority.

www.americanexperiment.org The State of Prosperity survey 6

When asked to choose from a list of potential obstacles to a successful system of education in Minnesota, 55 percent of respondents selected par-ents not involved in their kids education. (Note: respondents could include multiple answers.)

Whats interesting is the high level of bipartisan agreement on the parents response. While Repub-licans (61 percent) and Independents (52 percent) both named it the top con-cern, Democrats also listed it at 52 percent, although lack of funding (60 percent) and poverty (55 percent) scored higher.

Mitch Pearlstein, the Centers founder and president, says that hes pleased through not surprised that parental involvement was seen by a clear majority of Minnesotans as critical. Without question, though, he says, people conceive of such engagement in different ways.Most basi-cally it means mothers and fathers staying on top of their children, making certain they do their homework, showing up for parent-teacher conferences, and overall making it clear to their boys and girls that learning is vitally more important both for intrinsic reasons and for their future

well-being and success as adults.

He says that many concerns about parental involvement are even more basic, focusing, quite frankly, on whether some mothers and fathers are adequately equipped to be effective parents in the first place. This is especially the case when it comes to many kids growing up in unstable, single-parent situations. How do we encourage and help such parentswho are usually poorly educated them-

selves help their children? And for manynot that these categories are exclusive of each otherthe need for great-er parental involvement has to do with affording parents wider choices in where their children can attend school.

He cited three major surveys over the last two decades regarding what Minnesotans think about different kinds of educational choice, including vouchers, tax credits, and, more recently, education savings accounts. In each instance, endorsement of broader education freedom has been strong, with vouchers, for example, garnering sup-port from nearly two-thirds of all interviewees each time, he says.

Center of the American Experiment develops and promotes policies which encourage economic growth and a culture of individual, family and

civic responsibility. Our workfirmly rooted in conservative and free market principlesfocuses on original research, op-eds,

public forums, legislative briefings, and various other means for turning essential ideas into tangible action.

8441 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 350, Golden Valley, MN 55426 (612) 338-3605 AmericanExperiment.org

!! 1! www.meetingstreetresearch.com

!

!MINNESOTA STATEWIDE VOTER SURVEY Field&Dates:&&& & April&26128,&2015&Sample&Size:& & N=500&Registered&Voters&(30%&cell)&Margin&of&Error:&& +/14.38%& *"Denotes"result"less"than"0.5%.""Due"to"rounding,"some"figures"may"be"higher"or"lower"by"less"than"one;half"of"one"percent."!!Screener"Question"A"Before!we!begin,!I!need!to!know!if!I!have!reached!you!on!a!cell!phone,!and!if!so,!are!you!in!a!place!where!you!can!talk!safely!without!endangering!yourself!or!others?!

!30%! Yes,!cell!and!in!safe!place!70%! No,!not!on!cell!

!"Screener"Question"C"Are!you!registered!to!vote!at!(IF!LAND:!this!address/IF!CELL:!your!home!address!in!Minnesota)?!!100%! YES!!!!Question"1"To!start,!thinking!about!things!nationally...!Generally!speaking,!would!you!say!that!things!in!the!country!are!going!in!the!right!direction,!or!have!they!gotten!off!on!the!wrong!track?!

!34%! RIGHT!DIRECTION!57%! WRONG!TRACK!!!9%! NO!OPINION!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!1%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!"

!!! 2!2

Question"2"Next,!turning!our!attention!to!things!here!in!Minnesota...!Generally!speaking,!would!you!say!that!things!in!Minnesota!are!going!in!the!right!direction,!or!have!they!gotten!off!on!the!wrong!track?!

!58%! RIGHT!DIRECTION!36%! WRONG!TRACK!!!4%! NO!OPINION!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!Question"3"Thinking!now!about!some!issues,!which!TWO!of!the!following!issue!areas!do!you!believe!should!be!the!top!priorities!for!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature?!Would!it!be...!(RANDOMIZE.&RECORD&AS&RANKED&FIRST&AND&SECOND&CHOICE)!

!(PROMPT&IF&NEEDED)!And,!what!would!you!say!is!the!NEXT!top!priority!for!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature?!(DO&NOT&READ&LIST&UNLESS&ASKED&TO)!!1st& Comb&22%! 36%! Education!12%! 22%! The!economy!12%! 20%! State!government!spending!!!9%! 20%! Traffic!and!transportation!infrastructure!!!9%! 18%! Taxes!!!!8%! 17%! Jobs!here!in!Minnesota!!!8%! 15%! Health!care!!!!7%! 12%! Moral!issues!and!decline!of!the!family!!!5%! !!9%! Poverty!!!3%! !!7%! Climate!change!!!2%! !!7%! Race!relations!!!1%! !!5%! Crime!!

!!!1%! !!1%! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!!1%! !!1%! NONE!OF!THE!ABOVE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!1%! !!1%! DON'T!KNOW/!REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!

!!! 3!3

Question"4"Turning!our!attention!to!the!economy!Over!the!last!year,!do!you!think!Minnesotas!economy!has!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!!46%! Gotten!better!10%! Gotten!worse!42%! Stayed!about!the!same!!!2%! Not!sure!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!"Question"5"And,!compared!to!the!rest!of!the!country,!do!you!believe!Minnesotas!economy!is...!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!!61%! Better!!!5%! Worse!31%! Or!about!the!same!

...as!the!national!economy?!!!4%! DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!Question"6"Over!the!last!year,!has!your!personal!financial!situation!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!

!20%!! Gotten!better!16%! Gotten!worse!63%! Stayed!about!the!same!!!*! Not!sure!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!*! Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!" "

!!! 4!4

Question"7"Now,!I!want!to!turn!our!attention!to!the!Metropolitan!Council,!also!known!as!the!Met!Council.!To!start,!please!tell!me!first!if!you!have!heard!of!the!Met!Council!and!if!your!opinion!is!favorable!or!unfavorable.!!(IF&FAV/UNFAV,&ASK)!And!would!that!be!STRONGLY!(favorable/unfavorable)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(favorable/unfavorable)?!!

!!!4%! Very!Favorable!15%! Somewhat!Favorable!!!7%! Somewhat!Unfavorable!11%! Very!Unfavorable!29%! Heard!of/No!Opinion!(DO&NOT&READ)!33%! Never!Heard!of!!!2%! Refused!(DO&NOT&READ)!!65%$ TOTAL$HEARD$OF$19%$ TOTAL$FAVORABLE$18%$ TOTAL$UNFAVORABLE$" "

!!! 5!5

Questions"8;11"Thinking!some!more!about!this!The!Met!Council!was!created!in!the!1960s!with!limited!planning!and!coordinating!powers!over!regional!infrastructure!!mainly!sewers!and!roads!for!the!seven!counties!that!make!up!the!Twin!Cities!metropolitan!area.!Over!the!years,!the!Councils!scope!and!power!have!expanded!to!include!approving!local!governments!comprehensive!plans,!allocating!federal!transportation!funds,!administering!some!affordable!housing!programs,!and!operating!regional!transit!and!waste!water!systems.!!All!17!members!of!the!Met!Council!are!appointed!by!the!Governor.!!Now,!having!heard!more!about!the!Met!Council!I!am!going!to!read!you!a!series!of!different!views!about!the!Met!Councils!plans!for!transportation!and!housing.!!After!I!read!each!view,!please!tell!me!if!you!AGREE!or!DISAGREE!with!that!particular!viewpoint.!!The!(FIRST/NEXT)!one!is!!&(IF&AGREE/DISAGREE,&ASK)!And!do!you!COMPLETELY!(AGREE/DISAGREE)!or!just!MOSTLY!(AGREE/DISAGREE)!that!view?!!TOT& TOT& COMPLETELY& MOSTLY& MOSTLY& COMPLETELY& DK/REF&AGREE&DISAG& AGREE&& AGREE&& DISAGREE& DISAGREE& (DNR)&!(8)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!RIGHT!to!focus!public!resources!on!developing!highfdensity!housing!along!fixed!rail!transit!lines!to!reduce!reliance!on!cars!and!encourage!more!residents!to!take!public!transit.!!62%& 29%& 16%! ! 46%! ! 17%! ! 13%! ! !!9%!&"(9)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!WRONG!to!prioritize!tax!dollars!for!light!rail!transit!projects,!while!virtually!ignoring!congestion!relief!on!our!roads!and!highways.!52%& 38%! 19%! ! 33%! ! 26%! ! 12%! ! 10%!!!"(10)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!RIGHT!to!focus!on!developing!plans!to!disperse!lowfincome!people!throughout!the!metro!area!and!require!communities!to!plan!for!and!promote!affordable!housing!and!build!it!in!higher!income!areas.!50%& 39%! 14%! ! 35%! ! 20%! ! 20%! ! 11%& !!""(11)"Some!say!the!Met!Councils!plan!is!WRONG!because!it!prioritizes!and!gives!funding!preferences!to!the!urban!areas!at!the!expense!of!suburban!communities.!48%& 37%& 16%! ! 32%! ! 28%! ! !!9%! ! 15%

!!! 6!6

Question"12!Next,!I!am!going!to!give!you!a!list!of!different!factors!that!some!say!are!obstacles!to!a!successful!education!system!in!the!state.!!After!I!read!them,!please!tell!me!which!ONES!you!believe!are!significant!challenges!facing!Minnesotas!education!system!today.!!(RANDOMIZE&AND&ACCEPT&MULTIPLE&RESPONSES)&!55%! Parents!not!involved!in!their!kids!education!45%! Too!much!bureaucracy!45%! Lack!of!funding!42%! Poverty!41%! Family!breakdown!28%! Teacher!quality!25%! Teachers!union!blocks!reform!efforts!24%! Lazy!students!16%! Not!enough!choice!and!competition!between!schools!!!!1%! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%! NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%! REFUSED/DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)&&& &

!!! 7!7

Questions"13;16!Next,!were!going!to!look!at!a!series!of!proposals!dealing!with!transportation!issues!that!might!be!considered!this!year!by!the!Governor!and!State!Legislature.!!After!I!read!each!one,!please!tell!me!if!you!would!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!that!proposal.!!The!(FIRST/NEXT)!one!is!(RANDOMIZE)!!(IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!proposal?!!TOT& TOT& & STRG& SMWT&& SMWT&STRG& & NO& DK/&SUPPT&OPPO& & SUPPT&SUPPT&& OPPO& OPPO& & DIFF& REF&!(15)"Modernizing!and!expanding!aging!roads,!highways!and!bridges!94%& &&3%& & 68%! 26%! ! !!2%! !!2%! ! !!*! !!2%!""(16)"Prioritize!funding!for!updating!roads!and!bridges!over!funding!for!mass!transit!projects!like!light!rail!&65%& 29%! ! 33%! 32%! ! 15%! 13%! ! !!2%! !!4%!""(14)"Focusing!transit!spending!on!less!costly!options,!such!as!bus!rapid!transit!65%& 30%& & 23%! 43%! ! 17%! 12%! ! !!*! !!5%!""(13)"Expanding!light!rail!projects!!61%& 35%! ! 30%! 31%! ! 14%! 21%! ! !!1%! !!3%!!!!!!" "

!!! 8!8

Question"17"The!state!legislature!is!currently!debating!how!to!pay!to!maintain!Minnesotas!roads!and!bridges.!!I!am!going!to!read!you!two!different!viewpoints!on!this!issue!and!after!I!read!both!of!them,!tell!me!which!ONE!you!tend!to!support!the!most.!!(RANDOMIZE)!!29%! (One/Another)!side!believes!we!should!raise!the!gas!tax.!! while!!!65%! (Another/One)!side!believes!we!should!not!raise!taxes!and!instead!use!the!

existing!sales!tax!on!automobile!related!expenses,!such!as!auto!parts!and!car!rentals.!!

!!!2%! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!4%! NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!ff! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!Question"18!Next,!Id!like!to!ask!a!couple!questions!about!public!pensions!!thats!the!pension!plan!for!state!and!local!government!employees.!!Based!on!what!you!know,!how!serious!is!the!current!financial!situation!with!Minnesotas!public!pensions?!!!Is!it!a!very!serious!problem,!somewhat!serious,!not!too!serious!or!not!a!serious!problem!at!all?!!17%! Very!serious!problem!34%! Somewhat!serious!!14%! Not!too!serious!12%! Not!a!serious!problem!at!all!22%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!51%$ TOTAL$SERIOUS$PROBLEM$27%$ TOTAL$NOT$A$SERIOUS$PROBLEM$!!

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Question"19"Would!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!a!plan!to!transition!Minnesotas!public!employees!from!their!current!pension!plan!to!the!kind!of!401!Kfstyle!pension!system!that!is!commonly!used!by!private!sector!employers?!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!plan?!!39%! STRONGLY!SUPPORT!24%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!11%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!15%! STRONGLY!OPPOSE!10%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!64%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$26%$ TOTAL$OPPOSE$!!Question"20!Now!lets!talk!about!health!care.!Health!care!costs!continue!to!increase!faster!than!growth!in!the!overall!economy.!!Which!ONE!of!the!following!do!you!believe!is!a!better!way!to!contain!rising!health!care!costs?!!35%! Create!a!single!payer!health!care!system!in!which!all!Americans!would!get!their!

health!insurance!from!one!health!plan!that!is!financed!by!taxes.!!! OR!59%! Increase!competition!in!the!health!insurance!market!by!letting!people!use!

employer!contributions!to!choose!their!own!health!plan.!!!!ff! ALL!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!3%! NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!1%! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!

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Question"21"Changing!topics!and!looking!at!energy!nextDo!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!requiring!Minnesota!electric!utilities!to!generate!electricity!from!renewable!resources,!even!if!it!means!Minnesota!residents!and!businesses!pay!higher!electricity!prices?!!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!that!requirement?!!26%! STRONGLY!SUPPORT!28%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!17%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!25%! STRONGLY!OPPOSE!!!4%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!54%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$42%$ TOTAL$OPPOSE$!!Question"22!On!the!issue!of!the!state!budget!Do!you!SUPPORT!or!OPPOSE!placing!a!limit!on!how!much!lawmakers!can!increase!state!spending,!such!as!limiting!the!growth!in!spending!to!the!growth!in!inflation!or!personal!income?!!IF&SUPPORT/OPPOSE,&ASK)!And!do!you!STRONGLY!(support/oppose)!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(support/oppose)!the!spending!limit?!!36%! STRONGLY!SUPPORT!27%! SOMEWHAT!SUPPORT!16%! SOMEWHAT!OPPOSE!13%! STRONGLY!OPPOSE!!!7%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&!64%$ TOTAL$SUPPORT$29%$ TOTAL$OPPOSE$$"

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Question"23"And,!finally,!the!State!economic!forecast!says!that!the!state!is!probably!going!to!have!a!1.9!billion!dollar!budget!surplus.!Which!ONE!of!the!following!do!you!think!should!be!the!legislatures!top!priority!for!allocating!the!excess!funding?!!(RANDOMIZE)&!39%! Save!it!for!a!rainy!day!38%! Use!it!to!cut!future!taxes!13%! Spend!it!on!new!and!expanded!government!programs!!!7%! NONE!OF!THESE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!2%! DONT!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)&!!*! REFUSED&!(DO&NOT&READ)&

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!Question"D1!In!what!year!were!you!born?!!15%! 18f34!20%! 35f44!21%! 45f54!21%! 55f64!22%! 65+!!!1%! REFUSED!!!Question"D2"GENDER!(BY&OBSERVATION,&BUT&ASK&EVERYONE)!Are!you!currently!employed,!a!student,!a!homemaker,!retired,!or!unemployed!and!looking!for!work?!

!(ASK&IF&EMPLOYED)!And!are!you!now!employed!fullftime!or!partftime?!!31%! MALE/EMPLOYED!FULLfTIME!!!2%! MALE/EMPLOYED!PARTfTIME!!!1%! MALE/HOMEMAKER!12%! MALE/RETIRED/STUDENT/UNEMPLOYED!!!*! MALE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!25%! FEMALE/EMPLOYED!FULLfTIME!!!7%! FEMALE/EMPLOYED!PARTfTIME!!!4%! FEMALE/HOMEMAKER!17%! FEMALE/RETIRED/STUDENT/UNEMPLOYED!!!1%! FEMALE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!"47%$ TOTAL$MALE$53%$ TOTAL$FEMALE$&

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Question"D4"And!what!is!the!last!grade!you!completed!in!school?!(DO&NOT&READ&CHOICES)!

!!!1%! SOME!GRADE!SCHOOL!(GRADES!1f8)!!!2%! SOME!HIGH!SCHOOL!(GRADES!9f11)!20%! GRADUATED!HIGH!SCHOOL!(GRADE!12)!!!7%! TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL!SCHOOL!22%! SOME!COLLEGE!!31%! GRADUATED!COLLEGE!!16%! POSTfGRADUATE!!!1%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)&&23%$ HIGH$SCHOOL$OR$LESS$29%$ SOME$COLLEGE$47%$ COLLEGE+$!!Question"D5"Which!of!the!following!best!describes!your!household...!(ROTATE&TOP&TO&BOTTOM/BOTTOM&TO&TOP)!!!!3%! UPPER!CLASS!18%! UPPER!MIDDLE!CLASS!51%! MIDDLE!CLASS!17%! LOWER!MIDDLE!CLASS!!!7%! LOWER!CLASS!!!2%! DONT!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!

!21%$ UPPER/UPPER$MIDDLE$CLASS$51%$ MIDDLE$CLASS$$24%$ LOWER/LOWER$MIDDLE$CLASS$$!

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Question"D6!In!politics!today,!do!you!usually!think!of!yourself!as!(ROTATE&FIRST&TWO)!a!Republican,!a!Democrat,!an!Independent!or!something!else?!

!(IF&REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT,&ASK)!Would!you!call!yourself!a!STRONG!(Republican/Democrat)!or!a!NOTfSOfSTRONG!(Republican/Democrat)?!!(IF&INDEPENDENT/SOMETHING&ELSE/NO&PREFERENCE,&ASK)!Do!you!think!of!yourself!as!closer!to!the!Republican!Party!or!the!Democrat!Party?!!13%! STRONG!REPUBLICAN!!!7%! NOTfSOfSTRONG!REPUBLICAN!14%! LEAN!REPUBLICAN!25%! INDEPENDENT!/!SOMETHING!ELSE!!!9%! LEAN!DEMOCRAT!11%! NOTfSOfSTRONG!DEMOCRAT!18%! STRONG!DEMOCRAT!!!!2%! NOT!SURE/REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!

!34%$ TOTAL$REPUBLICAN$39%$ TOTAL$DEMOCRAT$!"Question"D7!Generally!speaking,!on!most!political!issues,!do!you!consider!yourself!to!be!(ROTATE&TOP&TO&BOTTOM,&BOTTOM&TO&TOP)!conservative,!moderate!or!liberal!on!most!issues?!!

!(IF&CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL,&ASK)!And!would!you!say!you!are!VERY!(CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL),!or!just!SOMEWHAT!(CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL)?!

!15%! VERY!CONSERVATIVE!23%! SOMEWHAT!CONSERVATIVE!!34%! MODERATE!12%! SOMEWHAT!LIBERAL!!12%! VERY!LIBERAL!!!!2%! DON'T!KNOW!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!38%$ TOTAL$CONSERVATIVE$24%$ TOTAL$LIBERAL$!!

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Question"D8!And,!thinking!back!to!the!2012!presidential!election...Regardless!of!how!you!may!feel!today...for!which!of!the!following!candidates!did!you!vote!for!President...!(ROTATE&PUNCHES&112)!!Voted& Total&45%! 39%! Mitt!Romney!53%! 46%! Barack!Obama!!!ff! !!!ff! Gary!Johnson!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!3%! !!3%! SOMEONE!ELSE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!*! TOO!YOUNG!TO!VOTE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!2%! DID!NOT!VOTE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!4%! DONT!KNOW/DONT!RECALL!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!ff! !!6%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!&Question"D9&How!would!you!describe!the!area!where!you!currently!live?!

!23%! A!city!35%! A!suburban!area!22%! A!small!town!18%! A!rural!area!!!*! DON'T!KNOW/NOT!SURE!(DO&NOT&READ)!!!2%! REFUSED!(DO&NOT&READ)!!