Public Opinion and Fiscal Politics Appendix

A Appendix Figure A.1: “Red State Socialism” Infographic. This infographic circulated widely leading up to the 2008 presidential election (Perr 2012). Economy vs. Deficit 30 40 50 Jobs vs. Deficit 60 70 30 40 50 60 UT UT OK ND NE SD TN WY WV ID AL AR KS IA MT KY TX MS IN AZ LA PA CO MN AK SC GA NM MO WI CA OR NV NC VA OH MI ME NH WA HI DE IL CT NJ FL VT SD NE ND WY OK ID AR WV IN MN KS MT IA TN KY AK AZ TX PA AL CO WI MO NH WA VA ME SC MS OR VT NV HI FL NC NM DE MI LA OH GA IL NJ CT RI MA MD CA NY RI MD MA NY 30 40 50 60 70 70 30 40 50 60 70 Figure A.2: Opposition to Spending with Deficit Tradeoff by State. The dotted vertical line indicates the national average. States labeled in red supported John McCain in 2008, while those labeled in blue supported Barack Obama. Pork (pre−2008) 50 60 70 Pork (post−2008) 80 50 60 60 80 10 UT SD ND WY NE WV OK IA MT KY ID ME WI AR OR OH TN KS MN IN AL NH AK VT CO WA MO HI MI PA FL NV VA NC AZ SC RI TX DE NJ MA CT NM GA IL MS LA CA NY MD ND SD NE WV OK WY UT MT IA AR TN AL KS ID KY OR AZ FL ME MN IN WI PA MO OH HI VT NH NV CO NC MI WA NM SC VA MS CT DE NJ TX IL AK MA RI CA LA NY GA MD 50 Infrastructure 70 70 80 50 60 70 20 30 40 UT AL MS TN AR OK NE WV SD KY ND WY SC LA GA IN NC TX ID OH IA MO KS VA AK NV MI MT NM AZ WI DE PA CO MN IL FL OR ME MD WA NH HI CA NJ VT CT NY RI MA 80 10 20 30 40 Figure A.3: Opposition to Pork-Type Spending by State. States labeled in red supported John McCain in 2008, while those labeled in blue supported Barack Obama. The dotted vertical line indicates the national average. Jobs in District 20 30 40 50 60 UT ND SD NE WY MT OK ID IA WV MN KS NH AK OR TN IN ME KY WI VT WA CO AR HI PA VA AZ OH MI AL NV IL MO MA CT NC RI NJ SC DE FL TX GA CA MS MD LA NY NM 20 30 40 50 60 Figure A.4: Opposition to Spending for Jobs in District by State. States labeled in red supported John McCain in 2008, while those labeled in blue supported Barack Obama. The dotted vertical line indicates the national average. Jobs v. Deficit Economy v. Deficit 0.65 0.7 0.60 0.6 0.55 0.5 0.50 0.45 0.4 0.40 0.3 0.35 Jobs in District 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 Figure A.5: Maps of Opposition to Different Types of Spending. Shading indicates the degree of opposition. Stimulus Economy v. Deficit NM NM WV MS 1.5 VT RI CA MA NY 0.5 WY IA ID FL TN OK MOKSIN PA OR NC WANH GA AR MI NVOH TX WI NE CO CT IL NJ MN DE 40 45 50 UT MT AL 2.0 HI ME VA SC LA AZ VT 1.5 MD FL 1.0 RI MA NY 55 60 45 WV NM MS 2.5 65 WY IA ID FL IN OK ORMO TN KS NC NHPA WA RI GA AR MI TX MA OH NV WI NE CO CTIL NJ MN DE 40 45 50 AZ SD VT WY IAID FL MO TN IN ORKS OK PA NC WANH MI AR CAGA NV OH TX RI WI MA CO NY IL CT NJ MN DE MD 40 42 44 WV 55 NM MS 2.5 46 UT ME VA SC LA VT 1.0 0.5 48 ND AL HI NE 50 SD KY AZ WY MD ID IA UT OK TN MOIN FL OR KS NC NHPA WA RI TX GA CA AR MINV WI OH MA NE CO NY IL CT NJ MN DE 64.0 Opposition to Spending 60 AK MT 2.0 1.5 UT WV AK ND HI ME KY VA Spending/Taxes Spending/Taxes SC 38 60 AZ Pork (post 2008) MT 36 MD 1.0 SD KY Pork (pre 2008) AK 0.5 VT 0.5 55 HI ME VA SC Jobs in District AL 1.0 1.5 CA NY MN 50 ND AL LA Opposition to Spending 2.0 LA UT MT 2.0 Opposition to Spending MS 1.5 WY IA ID TN OK MO IN KS OR NC PA NH WA GA AR MI CA NV TX WI OH NE CO CTIL NJ DE 0.5 ND SD KY Opposition to Spending NM 2.5 SD KY AK 64.5 65.0 65.5 66.0 Spending/Taxes MD 1.0 ME VASC LA AZ Spending/Taxes Spending/Taxes ND AL HI WV MS 2.5 AK MT 2.0 NM WV MS 2.5 AK Spending/Taxes 2.5 Jobs v. Deficit 2.0 LA 1.5 MD 1.0 CA NY 0.5 66.5 Opposition to Spending 72 MT ND AL HI ME SD KY VA SC AZ VT WY IDIA UT FLMO OK TN IN OR KS PA NC NH RI GA TX AR MIWA NV WI MA NE CO OH ILCT NJ MN DE 74 76 78 Opposition to Spending Infrastructure NM WV Spending/Taxes 2.5 AK MT 2.0 ND HIME AZ VT 1.0 RI MA 0.5 AL SD KY SC LA VA 1.5 MS WY IAID MD FL OK TN MO IN OR PA KS NC GA AR MI WINV OH TX NE CO NY IL CT NJ MN DE 18 UT NH WA CA 20 22 24 26 28 Opposition to Spending Figure A.6: Net Spending and Opinion. Each figure plots opposition to a particular type of spending against the ratio of federal outlays to federal taxes for each state. The solid black line represents the linear relationship between these two variables, which is positive and statistically significant in every case. Poll Year N NBC/WSJ 2008 506 ABC/WP 2009 1,068 ABC/WP 2009 992 ABC/WP 2009 996 ABC/WP 2009 993 CBS 2009 944 CBS/NYT 2009 998 CBS/NYT 2009 895 CBS/NYT 2009 1,050 Gallup/USAT 2009 1,013 NBC/WSJ 2009 1,007 Question Which of the following concerns you more? That the federal government will spend too much money to try to boost the economy and as a result will drive up the budget deficit, or that the federal government will spend too little money to try to boost the economy and as a result the recession will be longer? Which of these do you think is more important right now– increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy, even if it sharply increases the federal budget deficit, or avoiding a big increase in the federal budget deficit, even if it means not increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy? Which of these do you think is more important right now– increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy, even if it sharply increases the federal budget deficit, or avoiding a big increase in the federal budget deficit, even if it means not increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy? Which of these do you think is more important right now– increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy, even if it sharply increases the federal budget deficit, or avoiding a big increase in the federal budget deficit, even if it means not increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy? Which of these do you think is more important right now– increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy, even if it sharply increases the federal budget deficit, or avoiding a big increase in the federal budget deficit, even if it means not increasing federal spending to try to improve the economy? Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to stimulate the national economy and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, even if it means increasing the budget deficit and the national debt. The federal government should not spend money to stimulate the national economy and should focus instead on reducing the budget deficit and the national debt. Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to stimulate the national economy and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which comes closer to your own view?...The federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to stimulate the national economy and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. In thinking about the trade-offs between spending government money to improve the economy versus adding considerable amounts of money to the federal debt, which do you think is the greater risk–spending too little to improve the economy or adding too much to the federal debt? Which of the following concerns you more?...That the federal government will spend too much money trying to boost the economy and as a result will drive up the budget deficit. That the federal government will spend too little money trying to boost the economy and as a result the recession will be longer. Category Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Poll Year N Pew 2009 1,005 Pew 2010 705 Pew 2010 1,003 Pew 2008 1,489 Pew 2009 1,308 Pew 2009 1,502 Kaiser/Harvard/ WP 2010 2,054 CBS 2010 966 CBS 2010 1,253 CBS/NYT 2010 1,084 CBS/NYT 2010 1,591 Kaiser/Harvard/ WP 2010 2,054 CBS/NYT 2006 983 Question If you were setting priorities for the government these days, would you place a higher priority on spending more to help the economy recover or a higher priority on reducing the budget deficit? If you were setting priorities for the government these days, would you place a higher priority on...spending more to help the economy recover, or a higher priority on reducing the budget deficit? If you were setting priorities for the government these days, would you place a higher priority on reducing the budget deficit or...spending more to help the economy recover? As you may know, the government is considering several other proposals to address economic problems facing the nation. Do you think it is the right thing or the wrong thing for the government to spend billions of dollars...to substantially increase spending on roads, bridges, and other public works projects? As you may know, the government has taken or is considering other steps to address economic problems facing the nation. Do you think it is the right thing or the wrong thing for the government to spend billions of dollars...to substantially increase spending on roads, bridges, and other public works projects? As you may know, the federal government has taken several steps to address economic problems facing the nation. Do you approve or disapprove of the government spending billions of dollars...to substantially increase spending on roads, bridges, and other public works projects? Do you want your representative in Congress to fight for more government spending in your congressional district, in order to create jobs, or do you want your representative to fight to cut government spending, even if it means fewer jobs in your district? Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to create jobs, even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to create jobs and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to create jobs, even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to create jobs and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which comes closer to your own view?...The federal government should spend money to create jobs, even if it means increasing the budget deficit. The federal government should not spend money to create jobs and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which comes closer to your own view? The federal government should spend money to create jobs, even if it means increasing the budget deficit, or the federal government should not spend money to create jobs and should instead focus on reducing the budget deficit. Which of these do you think is more important right now– increasing federal spending to try to create jobs and improve the economy, or avoiding a big increase in the federal budget deficit? As far as you know, does your own representative in Congress sponsor this type of legislation (that include government spending projects for their own home states and districts sometimes known as ’earmarks’/’earmarks’ or ’pork’), or not? Category Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Economy vs. Deficit Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure Jobs in District Jobs vs. Deficit Jobs vs. Deficit Jobs vs. Deficit Jobs vs. Deficit Jobs vs. Deficit MC Pork Poll Year N CBS 2009 1,142 CNN 2010 1,008 CBS/NYT 2006 983 CBS 2007 836 ABC/WP 2010 1,281 Gallup/USAT 2010 1,014 Question Members of Congress sometimes add provisions to legislations that include government spending projects for their own home states and districts, sometimes known as ’earmarks’ or ’pork.’ Do you think this practice is generally acceptable or not acceptable? Members of Congress sometimes add provisions to legislation that include government spending projects for their own home states and districts, sometimes known as ’earmarks.’ Do you think this practice is generally acceptable or not acceptable? Members of Congress sometimes add provisions to legislation that include government spending projects for their own home states and districts, sometimes known as ’earmarks’ or ’pork.’ Do you think this practice is generally acceptable or not acceptable? Members of Congress sometimes add provisions to legislation that include government spending projects for their own home states and districts, sometimes known as ’earmarks’ or ’pork.’ Do you think this practice is generally acceptable or not acceptable? Do you think the federal government should spend more money to try to boost the economy in a way that creates jobs, or do you think that whether or not jobs are created should be left to the private sector? (Would you favor or oppose Congress passing new legislation this year (2010) that would do the following?) How about...approve additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy? Table A.1: Poll Data Used. Category Pork (post-2008) Pork (post-2008) Pork (pre-2008) Pork (pre-2008) Stimulus Stimulus