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Opinion Columns Editor's Note: Web poll results keep coming
Editor's Note: Web poll results keep coming
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There’s nothing scientific about online polling, but it can be hard these days to find a Web site that doesn’t attempt this bit of interactivity with Internet surfers. Triplicate.com is no exception. Go there right now and you can weigh in on this question: Who is more to blame for the state budget crisis? So far, the response breaks down like this: legislative Democrats, 100 (46.1%); Gov. Schwarzenegger, 75 (34.6%); and legislative Republicans, 42 (19.4%). This could be interpreted as bad news for Democrats, although if you combine the governor with legislative Republicans, they get more of the blame. And as of the last time I checked, Schwarzenegger is currently in the GOP’s no-new-taxes camp for this round of the Sacramento stalemate, although he was hopping around in a seemingly bipartisan dance a few months ago — back in the days when the state budget deficit was only $15 billion or so. There’s still time to cast your vote on this one, but the polls have closed on previous questions. Here are some of the most recent results along with some instant analysis. (To see them all for yourself, go to the poll question on the home page, click on “results” and then on “select poll.”)
• Agree or disagree: The government should find a way to insure that
all citizens have health insurance. Agree, 198 (54.7%); Disagree, 164,
(45.3 %).
You might consider those results politically left of center for right-leaning Del Norte County. Of course with an online poll there’s no way to know for sure where respondents live, just that they show enough interest in our area to visit triplicate.com. Besides, on this question some folks’ political conservatism may be overridden by the fact that they have no health insurance. • Should the City of Crescent City dedicate a portion of its motel tax revenue to the Visitors Bureau for permanent funding of tourism promotion? Yes, 261 (69.4%); No, 115 (30.6%). City Council members take note: The question wasn’t whether the city should support the Visitors Bureau in principle, but whether it should “dedicate” a portion of the motel tax revenue for “permanent funding.” The response was resounding, probably because almost anyone can grasp that if you successfully promote tourism, you’ll get more motel guests and a resulting boost in both the local economy and the motel tax revenue. • What is more important for local government contracts: Hiring local workers, 219 (68.2%); Getting the best possible price, 102 (31.8%). Hmmm, this might come as no surprise to School Board members who have been hearing from the “Buy Local” crowd ever since voters approved a $25 million bond levy last year. On the other hand, you’ve got to wonder just how much extra the typical taxpayer is willing to dole out to ensure the money stays local. • Have you changed anything about your hygiene habits or your behavior in public as a result of the swine flu epidemic? No, 272 (66.7%); Yes, 136 (33.3%). I wash my hands of this one. • Have you set aside supplies or assembled a survival kit in case of an earthquake/tsunami emergency? No, 147 (68.4 percent); Yes, 68 (31.6 percent). The poll ran right after our series of articles about the 45th anniversary of the 1964 tsunami. We need to remember that the vast majority of us would survive even much bigger tidal waves than the ones that swamped us then. If you want to convert from a “No” to a “Yes” on this question, go to triplicate.com, click on “Online Extras” and find the “Tsunami emergency kit list.” |
