The vast majority of Californians believe the state and federal governments waste their tax dollars, according to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll released September 19.
“Do you think the people in the state government waste a lot of the money we pay in taxes, waste some of it, or don’t waste much of it?” the PPIC asked.
The responses showed that 93 percent of the state’s residents believe the state wastes their tax money (48 percent answered “a lot” and 45 percent said “some”), compared to just 6 percent who said the state doesn’t waste very much and 1 percent who said they don’t know.
The federal government received even worse reviews, with 95 percent of Californians saying the feds waste their tax dollars (56 percent said “a lot” and 39 percent said “some,” while 4 percent said they “don’t waste very much” and 1 percent said they don’t know).
Observers noted that even the “don’t waste very much” selection indicates a belief that there is some level of wasteful spending.
Democrats made up 47 percent of the pool of respondents, independents accounted for 26 percent, and Republicans made up 25 percent, the PPIC reported. This is roughly in line with California’s voter registration (46 percent, 22 percent and 25 percent, according to a July report from the Secretary of State’s Office).
The poll of 1,605 California adult residents was conducted August 29 through September 9 in English and Spanish, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.