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Poll: Most Californians Favor Governor's Tax Increase Proposal

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California Governor Jerry Brown in October | Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images
California Governor Jerry Brown in October | Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images

A new poll says most Californians are in favor of Governor Jerry Brown's recent proposal to temporarily increase the state sales tax and the income taxes of high earners. The survey, released Monday night by the Public Policy Institute of California, is the 49th in a periodic series of polls that measures social, economic and political trends in the state.

While the survey covers a plethora of topics, ranging from the 2012 Presidential Election (Obama has 50% of likely voters) to Occupy Wall Street (Californians are more likely to support the nascent movement than the Tea Party), SoCal Focus will look at it through the lens of our region, based on available geographical data:

  • Support is highest for Governor Brown's proposal in the Bay Area (73%) and Los Angeles (69%) while residents in the Central Valley and the rest of Southern California -- Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties for the purposes of this poll -- are lower (both at 59%), but are still in the majority.
  • Brown's approval rating is at 42% statewide while the rating for state legislators remains very low, as it has all year long, at 25% (when only considering likely voters, it goes down to 16%). Disapproval is the highest among the Central Valley (68%) while the lowest is found in Los Angeles County (48%). Just over half of residents in the rest of Southern California (53%) and the Bay Area (54%) disapprove.
  • Will the state face bad times? Other Southern Californians are the most pessimistic (67%) while those in L.A. County are the least (53%).
  • Are local government services affected by recent state budget cuts? Once again, the region is at odds: 56% in L.A. County at the low end of the spectrum and the rest of Southern California at 67%.
  • Other Southern Californians (75%) are the most likely to say state government is run by and for a few big interests, while L.A. County and the Bay Area (both at 60%) are the least likely.
  • A majority feel the federal government wastes taxpayer money, with the Central Valley (77%) leading that sentiment, followed by Southern California (66%), L.A. County (58%) and the Bay Area (55%).
  • "Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area (53%) and Los Angeles (51%) trust the Democrats over Republicans to handle jobs and the economy, while residents in the Central Valley (42% Democrats, 38% Republicans) and the Other Southern California region (38% Democrats, 39% Republicans) are divided," states poll results.

To read the full report, go here.

The poll was conducted in English and Spanish between November 29th and December 5th with 2,003 adults throughout the state. The margin of error is ±3.6%. "Other Southern California" only included four counties because other regional areas, which were included in the overall results, had small sample sizes that were not large enough to report separately.

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