A recent Quinnipiac University poll showing Connecticut residents overwhelmingly prefer reducing state spending to increasing taxes to resolve the state’s budget crisis also reflect the views of most 113th District residents who have contacted state Representative Jason Perillo on the issue, Perillo said today. By a whopping 67 percent margin, citizens responding to the Q-poll said spending cuts – not tax increases – should be used to balance the budget and eliminate a projected $1.35 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30th – and to wipe out an estimated $8 billion deficit over the next two years. “The feedback I have been getting from my Shelton constituents via phone calls, e-mails, letters, and conversations I’ve had with people around town indicate that most residents want the deficit eliminated by reducing state spending – not by raising their taxes,” Perillo said. “For the most part, their views on the issue are consistent with the Q-poll findings.”
The Quinnipiac Poll results contrast sharply with the findings of a previous poll paid for by government employee unions – whose salaries and benefits are funded with taxpayer dollars and who want state taxes increased to eliminate the deficit.
“The Q-poll, which is widely respected for its accuracy and integrity, showed that most Connecticut residents agree with what I and other Republican legislators have been saying for months: that raising taxes in the middle of a recession is the worst possible way to resolve the state’s budget crisis,” Perillo said. “Middle class families in Shelton and elsewhere in Connecticut are concerned about losing their jobs and their homes at a time when their incomes are eroding and employers are cutting back. The last thing any of us need now is a major tax increase.”
“That is why I and other Republican legislators for months have been calling for responsible cuts in state spending that focus on streamlining state government and reforming or eliminating programs that are underperforming and wasting taxpayer dollars,” Perillo said.
The poll shows Democrats to be almost evenly divided on the issue, with 41 percent favoring tax increases and 47 percent supporting spending cuts. The data shows 89 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of unaffiliated voters support spending cuts to eliminate the deficit. In addition, nearly 70 percent of those polled said proposed budget cuts, including elimination of two dozen state agencies, are either appropriate or do not go far enough, Perillo said.
