Exclusive Poll: Two-Thirds Of Voters Don’t Trust Pols With Pension Reform
Saturday, September 24, 2011
As lawmakers continue to search for solutions to the state’s pension problems, the majority of registered voters say they have little faith in the politicians’ ability to enact reform, according to a GoLocalProv poll.
While 43 percent of registered voters say they feel the state is facing a major crisis in Rhode Island’s public employee pension system, 68 percent say they have little or no confidence in the ability of elected officials to solve the issue.
The poll, which was conducted by Starr Opinion Research, asked 403 registered voters for their opinions on a wide array of topics, ranging from pension reform to their views on the 1st Congressional District race in 2012. The margin of error for the overall sample was 4.9 percentage points.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWho’s To Blame?
With an unfunded pension liability estimated to be near $7 billion, the General Assembly has called a special session this fall to address the issue. But lawmakers are the ones to blame for problems in the first place, according to the poll. Sixty percent of registered voters say they mostly blame previous elected officials and 34 percent say lawmakers were simply ignoring an unpopular issue.
According to Josh Starr, who conducted the poll, all voter groups feel equally that pension reform is an important issue, but older voters (50 percent), those earning $75,000 or more (49 percent) and Republicans (52 percent) are more likely to feel it is a major crisis. Women, seniors, those with a lower income and Democrats are significantly more confident in the elected officials’ ability to solve the problems than men, those age 40 to 64, those earning $75,000 or more, Independents and Republicans.
If the problems aren’t solved, 21 percent of voters said they would blame everyone involved in the process, 18 percent said they would blame Democrats, another 18 percent said they would unions, 14 percent said they would blame Governor Chafee and 10 percent said Republicans would deserve the blame.
“Rhode Island voters recognize the magnitude of the public employee pension funding shortfall, but they lack confidence in the elected officials to vote for a solution,” Starr said. “Newly elected officials have an opportunity to garner credit for fixing a problem for which their predecessors are primarily blamed. If they fail to pass a solution, the stain of failure will be spread among everyone.”
Will They Go Far Enough?
State fiscal expert Gary Sasse said the General Assembly has no choice but to come up with solutions. He said the situation has reached its tipping point, but he questioned whether their answer will be enough.
“The pension crisis is so pervasive that not addressing it will have an adverse effect on education, social security and taxes,” Sasse said. “I’m confident they’ll address the pension issue, the question is whether they’ll go far enough.”
Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) Executive Director John Simmons agreed with Sasse. But he said the lack of confidence among voters is no surprise.
“I think if you look at it locally and nationally, the level of confidence in government to deal with issues is at an all time low,” Simmons said. “We believe the General Assembly and the General Treasurer will address the issue because they have no other choice.”
These People Created The Problem
But Lisa Blais, who heads the Ocean State Tea Party in Action, said she understands why the majority of registered voters lack confidence in the General Assembly’s ability to come up with a solution.
“I think they’re on to something,” Blais said. “These are the very people who created the problem to solve it. Given the conflict interest these people have, it’s hard to have confidence.”
If you valued this article, please LIKE GoLocalProv.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Related Articles
- Exclusive Poll: 74 Percent Believe RI Is Headed In Wrong Direction
- Exclusive Poll: President Has Lost Nearly Half His Support In RI
- Exclusive Poll: RI Weighs In On Statewide Elected Officials
